


Strange Town

by JustAnotherFanfictionWriter



Category: Welcome to Night Vale
Genre: All other characters in Welcome To Night Vale, Carlos's perspective, M/M, slight AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-24
Updated: 2016-06-10
Packaged: 2018-02-10 04:26:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 10
Words: 26,623
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2010861
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JustAnotherFanfictionWriter/pseuds/JustAnotherFanfictionWriter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>I felt someone staring at me, and I glanced over. It was Cecil. He was just standing there, closer than we’d been before, but not too far away. It caused shivers to run down my spine, but it wasn’t because I was afraid. Why did I not fear him? What was he doing to me? Was it his voice? Was it his voice?! “You never got to tell me your name…” Cecil said. His voice was pained, and he hesitated after he said name. He looked away from me, and down at my shoes. I just stared at him. I was confused, very confused. Obviously he had met me before and expected me to remember him, or something like that. (THIS STORY IS NOT COMPLETE. See notes in Chapter 1 for details.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Pilot

**Author's Note:**

> This story was inspired by the story Welcome to Night Vale by cupidity11 (fanfiction.net user)
> 
> This is Carlos/Cecil, rated M for possible adult themes and language (though I doubt I need it but it's better to be safe than sorry)
> 
> Originally, this story was going to take place during each episode of Welcome to Night Vale. Clearly, I didn't get that far. I've since moved on from the Welcome to Night Vale fanbase, and I have a hard time finding the motivation to listen to the podcast (even though I love it). It also would have been an easier task to complete had I started writing this from the beginning, but I have so many ideas for later on in the story that I just can't seem to write it. So, for now it is going to be complete, with a lot of unanswered questions. If you are curious to see where I intended to go I may put up one more chapter saying where I was thinking of taking it and (potentially) explaining things that were unanswered or that I was unclear about. Thank you for reading this if you did.

                I glanced around the van at the excited group around me. I sighed and leaned back in the leather seat, focusing on a distant cactus. I listened to them as they chatted, talking about the mission. I felt a sudden panic as we neared the town. I glanced at my watch, and just stared at it for a while, running though the items we’d brought in my head. I had the feeling like I was forgetting something. My eyes traced to my ring finger by instinct. The ring was gone. I sighed and looked at the ceiling of the van, in sudden regret for forgetting it. _Oh, that’s right. I don’t need it anymore_ , I thought. I felt bare without it, though. I looked back at my watch and clenched my jaw. I glanced at Lilly, who had obviously asked me a question. I winced at her, since I didn’t know what she asked. She just sighed.

                “What do you think this place will be like?” She asked. I shrugged.

                “From what we’ve heard from the scientists who’ve spent a week there, I’d say it’s pretty intense.” Samuel said. I nodded. The radio gave a sudden loud shriek, causing us all to cover our ears. Samantha screamed, since it startled her. The screeching suddenly stopped, leaving me with a pounding headache.

                _Hello listeners. To start things off I’ve been asked to read this brief notice: the city council announces the opening of a new dog park at the corner of Earl and Summerset near the Ralph’s. They would like to remind everyone that dogs are not allowed in the dog park. People are not allowed in the dog park. It is possible you will see hooded figures in the dog park. Do not approach them. Do not approach the dog park. The fence is electrified and highly dangerous. Try not to look at the dog park, and especially do not look for any period of time at the hooded figures. The dog park will not harm you._

“Did you change the station?” I asked nervously. I hoped the screeching wasn’t the station being changed.

                “No it’s still on the same station, same frequency. I guess this just overrode it?” William, our driver, said nervously. I nodded. I looked at the sign for Night Vale. It had many scratches, and parts of the paint were missing. It read “Welcome to Night Vale. Pop 0.” I became nervous. On the other side of the sign, it said “Goodbye, Night Vale. Population 1045.”

                “Did you guys see the sign?” I asked nervously.

                “Yeah. It said Welcome to Night Vale population 1045. Why?” Samantha said.

                “Did you all see that?” I asked everyone else.

                “Why?” Will said, looking at me through the rearview window.

                “I saw Pop 0.” I said.

                “Huh. Did you take your glasses off, or could you not see through your tears?” Thomas asked, his voice a degrading manor. I clenched my teeth. He and my wife had a secret affair for the entire time I was married to her and, being the child that I am, I sobbed instead of doing something about it. _I’m never going to live that down,_ I thought. We drove through town silently and arrived at the lab. I got out, irked and frustrated, and grabbed my camera. A man with a lanyard and tape recorder came up to us, quickly and timidly.

                “Hi. I’m from Night Vale radio, and I want to ask a few questions.”

                “Sure.” I said, stopping and leaning on the van.

                “What are you doing here?” He asked. I winced.

                “We were sent here to investigate the strange occurrences of Night Vale.” I said. The boy cocked his head and looked very confused, so I added, “We’re scientists.”

                “Oh that’s good. How long do you think you’ll be staying?” He asked.

                “Hard to say. It really depends on when we find what we’re looking for.” I said. He nodded. He waved, and left us to our business. I turned back to the van and opened the door, tossing my camera into the passenger seat.

                “Where are you going?” Sammy asked.

                “I’m going to take a picture of the sign and see if it’s the same on my camera as I can see it. Then maybe I could show it to you.” I told her, getting into the van.

                “Aw, you’re just going to go cry now, aren’t you?” Thomas called.

                “Be an adult!” I heard Will shout to him. I shut the door and buckled up. The van was still running since we’d all just gotten out. After a few minutes of driving, the man on the radio intrigued me.

                _A new man came into town today. Who is he? What does he want from us? Why his perfect and beautiful haircut? Why his perfect and beautiful coat? He says he is a scientist. Well, we have all been scientists at one point or another in our lives. But why now? Why here? And just what does he plan to do with all those breakers and humming electrical instruments in that lab he is renting—the one next to Big Ricco’s Pizza? No one does a slice like Big Ricco. No one._

I blinked. Only Tom and I had hair, and Will had a beard so who could he be talking about? It should have freaked me out, considering he could be talking about me. Was it his honey-like voice? I got to the sign just as I was wondering what was going on, and I pulled over. I looked at it and rolled down the window. It was the same as I’d seen it before. I took a picture of it, and it came out the same as I was seeing it.

                “I hope this works.” I mumbled. I drove back to the lab just as quickly as I left, and parked smoothly.

                “Did you get the picture?” Samantha asked me. I nodded. I showed her the picture, and I noticed her expression changed.

                “This is what it said to you, huh?” She mumbled.

                “So you can see it?” I asked.

                “Yeap. Pop 0…” She mumbled. Will came over and took the camera from her. He blinked and looked at me. He scratched his head and shrugged. I took the camera back and powered it off; placing it neatly within my suitcase I’d left in the van.

                “You have a town meeting this afternoon.” Will said to me, grabbing one of the last machines.

                “Why me?” I moaned. I was the best at public speaking out of the group, since I could project my voice, but I hadn’t gone to any public gatherings to talk about work that wasn’t even mine.

                “Someone stopped by and asked about you. She seemed to believe you were the head of this experiment. Also, the intern at the radio station came to you first. You might as well ride this to fame.” He said to me. He began to eye me as if expecting me to remain silent. I didn’t feel a sense of anger for some strange reason though. It was more of flattery, or just a childish sense of pride.

                “I’m not stealing credit for your theory,” I said, “but I will go to the town meeting and speak for you.”

                “That’s what we like to hear, Carlos.” Will said, smiling at me. I winced back at him. _He really thought I was just going to steal his work._ I thought. Samantha grabbed my wrist and spun me around. She pointed at the big building in the center of town.

                “That’s the building I want to check out. It looks really weird. We’ll let Tom and Will finish setting up in here. Do you mind?” She asked.

                “No, no it’s fine.” I told her, smiling at her. She gave a wide grin and began to drag me. I began to mumble about us taking the van, but she just shushed me.

                “We have a while before the meeting at City Hall. I figured it might be nice just to walk around town and take a look at that giant building, you know?” She asked me. I winced. We had walked only a few blocks when I saw someone watching us carefully. I glanced out of the corner of my eye at a man. He had black, short hair except for near the top of his head, where it was long and bleached blonde, but not long enough to get in his eyes. His hair was brushed neatly on his head, so it wouldn’t come onto his face. He had some stubble on his face, like he just forgot to shave this morning, but it managed to make him handsome. He wore purple cat-eye glasses, and on his forehead was a tattoo of a closed eye. He wore a white shirt with a dark purple bowtie, and a black vest. His shirt was rolled up at the sleeves, revealing lavender colored tentacle-like tattoos on his arms. He waved to us, and we waved back. He then jogged over to us and smiled.

                “Hello. My name is Cecil. I’m the community radio host.” He said, extending his hand. I was reluctant to shake it, since he was the one that gave the strange and out-of-the-blue compliments. Samantha took his hand and smiled.

                “I’m Samantha.” She said. He looked at me as if he were expecting me to say something. I winced and sighed. He cocked his head at me, and the expression on his face stirred something from deep within. I wasn’t sure if it was fear, or maybe affection, but either way it discomforted me. I shifted a little and coughed, looking down the road. I felt his eyes burning into the side of my face, so I just sighed.

                “Well, I guess I’m left huh?” I mumbled, looking at the ground, “My name is—.”

                “We have to go.” Samantha said, tugging on my arm. Her voice had a sense of distress and fear. I looked at her. Her eyes were widened slightly and she was staring at Cecil. I glanced at him while Samantha tugged me away. I didn’t notice much so I didn’t know why she was freaking out. After we got a couple of blocks away I forced her to stop.

                “What’s wrong with you?” I asked her, tugging my arm free.

                “The tattoo on his forehead changed.” She said, “When you were talking, the eye opened.”

                “So? What if—wait, you said it opened?” I asked her, confused. She nodded.

                “Well that’s one thing on the list of stuff we don’t know.” I mumbled. She nodded. I glanced over at seven people standing there and watching us. A man in a gas mask and riot gear armor tapped my shoulder and pointed to them. Samantha stood there, confused slightly, but I began to walk to them. I don’t know how or why I knew that’s what the man was saying, but I did. The group of seven nodded to me, all in unison. They walked inside of City Hall, and I followed. Samantha stayed outside, nervously playing with her shirt, telling me it was a bad idea to follow them since they were very creepy.

                “Are you aware that writing utensils are banned here?” They asked, all in unison. I jumped a little at the sudden topic.

                “I’m sorry?” I asked them.

                “Oh how rude of us.” They said, “We are the City Council. Did you know about the ban?”

                “Uh…No. I never heard that rule, considering we arrived about twenty minutes ago.” I said, “But if you wouldn’t mind, I would like to be able to use them purely for research notes, if you didn’t—.”

                “You and your scientists are not a part of Night Vale. Yet.” City Council said in unison, “Therefore, most of our laws do not apply to you.”

                “Such as…?” I asked, worried.

                “Well, you can use writing utensils.” City Council said, “We will send you a list later on today. Expect it to appear under your bed.”

                I felt a sense of distress at that, considering that’s not the normal means of mail delivery. I nodded. City Council then hissed at me, and I backed away from them. Their hissing got quieter, but it was still there. From the way I moved, I judged that they wanted me to leave. I exited City Hall, and stared at Samantha. She was smiling at me, nervously scratching her arm.

                “What did they want?” She asked me. I shrugged it off. I felt someone staring at me, and I glanced over. It was Cecil. He was just standing there, closer than we’d been before, but not too far away. It caused shivers to run down my spine, but it wasn’t because I was _afraid._ Why did I not fear him? What was he doing to me? Was it his voice? _Was it his voice?!_

                “You never got to tell me your name…” Cecil said. His voice was pained, and he hesitated after he said name. He looked away from me, and down at my shoes. I just stared at him. I was confused, very confused. Obviously he had met me before and expected me to remember him, or something like that.

                “Do you know me?” I asked him. He suddenly looked up at me, a combination of excitement and fear was in his eyes. He read my expression, and disappointment filled his eyes.

                “Kinda, sorta…” He said. Cecil and I stared at each other for about twenty minutes before he coughed and scratched the back of his head.

                “What do you mean by that?” I asked. Cecil shifted his weight slightly.

                “Well,” He started out, his voice discomforted, “I kinda figured you heard my name over the radio, though I guess it’s understandable since I didn’t introduce myself, and also you look almost exactly like my old high school… friend that left Night Vale.”

                “Ah. Was his name, perhaps, Jeff?” I asked. Cecil’s eyes lit up.

                “You know him?” He asked. I nodded.

                “We were roommates before I came out here. When I told him I was going with William to Night Vale, he shuddered and mumbled about how I was crazy to go with him.” I said, sighing, “So far nothing has made me extremely anxious to leave.”

                Cecil smiled, widely. His grin made me smirk a little, since he was so happy that I was staying. Samantha began to hum slightly, a soft tune to herself. Cecil turned to her and winced.

                “Sorry.” He said simply, turning to her, “Did you come with William and this man?”

                “It’s William’s idea to study this city. The outside world hears so much about this place that William wanted to see how this place ticked.” Samantha said, folding her arms over her chest. Cecil smiled at her. It seemed more like a wince. Samantha had daggers in her eyes. I winced as well.

                “Well, isn’t it this man that’s giving the announcement? It should start in a few minutes anyway.” Cecil asked again. When I glanced behind us, I saw people filing into City Hall. It amazed me at how they just knew it was now. There hadn’t even been an announcement, I think.

                “Yes, but that doesn’t mean it’s his—.” Samantha started. I tapped her arm and began to enter the building. She sighed and followed me. We walked to the front of the rows and rows of chairs, and stood there. It was a little intimidating, considering it was the whole town. Cecil took his seat near the front, by an old woman who had brought corn muffins. I cleared my throat after getting a nod from the government agents standing in the back, and I nodded at them.

                “Hello there, Night Vale, my name is Carlos.” I began, “As you were told, scientists have moved into the lab by Big Rico’s Pizza. This is entirely true. We are here because your community, by far, is the most scientifically interesting community we’ve ever come across. Our main purpose here is to see if we can put a lid on all of the paranormal activity going on in this town, and subsequently make a list of everything abnormal. We will also be trying to protect the community from strange happenings.”

                “What about the plane disappearing and re-appearing in our gym?” One of the people asked. A murmur of support was heard through the crowd. I winced, but it seemed more like a grin to the town.

                “We will be…looking into that. At this moment in time we have very little to no research on this place, considering the fact we’ve just moved here. I hope to answer all of your fears and questions soon, but for right now any and all questions must be kept to yourselves.” I replied, feeling anxious. These types of meetings could quickly turn into an interrogation, and I wasn’t sure if that’s what we needed right now. The people seemed to not suspect anything, all nodding and standing to try some muffins from the old woman. Cecil grinned at me again, before ducking out after taking a muffin. The old woman hobbled to me and handed me a muffin. I stepped down from the podium and took a small bite.

                “Hello, Carlos. I am Old Woman Josie. Do you like the muffins?” She asked me.

                “They’re pretty good.” I said, “Do you bake often?”

                “If that’s in reference to the salt, the Angels took all of it on a holy mission. I only heard about the meeting this morning, and I didn’t have time to go get more.” She said, her voice sweet but slightly defensive.

                “No, no that’s not why I asked. I just wanted to know if the others could be expecting baked goods every once in a while.” I said, smiling.

                “Ah. Well, if you like I could do that.” She said, patting my arm and hobbling away to go talk with some other people. Samantha and I began to head out, since our job was done. The man on the radio stopped me.

_That new scientist — we now know is named Carlos — called a town meeting. He has a square jaw, and teeth like a military cemetery. His hair is perfect, and we all hate, and despair, and love that perfect hair in equal measure. Old Woman Josie brought corn muffins which were decent, but lacked salt. She said the Angels had taken her salt for a Godly mission, and she hadn’t yet gotten around to buying more. Carlos told us that we are_ _by far_ _the most scientifically interesting community in the U.S., and he had come to study just what is going on around here. He grinned, and everything about him was perfect, and I fell in love instantly. Government agents from a vague yet menacing agency were in the back, watching. I fear for Carlos. I fear for Night Vale. I fear for anyone caught between what they know and what they don’t yet know that they don’t know._

                Samantha caught up to me and smiled. She elbowed me softly.

                “Someone’s got a stalker!” She teased. I stared at her, locking my jaw. It didn’t bother me that Cecil fell in love with me, or that Samantha was teasing me, it bothered me that she was implying that Cecil could be a stalker, or at least someone not to be trusted. I can’t explain why. I walked outside into the blistering heat, and began to make my way to the lab. Samantha was walking behind me a few paces and mumbling to herself. I wasn’t exactly paying attention, but when I got to the lab Will was pale. He was breathing heavily.

                “Are you alright?” I asked him. He shook his head. He looked at me, and fear was in his eyes. My brows creased in confusion.

                “I can’t stay here.” He said, breathless.

                “What are you talking about?” I asked him, coming closer. He shrieked and shook his head.

                “Follow me.” Tom said. He grabbed hold of Will and dragged him along. There were a handful of scientists whose names I didn’t know following us. Obviously the second group arrived. We got to the house just behind the elementary school. I stared at it, and it unnerved me.

                “It’s not there.” Will whispered, trembling. I glanced over at him.

                “How do you know that?” I asked him.

                “I threw a rock, and it vanished. No windows broke. Nothing happened. The rock just disappeared.” He whispered again. I shifted slightly.

                “Carlos, I’m leaving you in charge here. I can’t stand it here. I hear whispering, someone telling me to leave. I think I should listen to it.” Will said, turning on his heels and walking away quickly. He tossed the van keys back to me, and I caught them. He broke into a run, ignoring the used car we were towing behind the first van. I blinked a couple of times before turning my attention to the house. I picked up a pebble and threw it at the top window. Sure enough, the pebble went through the window. It didn’t shatter, nor did the pebble bounce off. I blinked in slight confusion. I took out my notebook and made a quick statement about this house, turning to the group.

                “Who wants to go knock on the door?” I asked.

                After returning to the lab, having no volunteers to go knock on the door and being antsy about it myself, I got a call from the monitoring station near rout 800. I was hesitant, since I had no idea how they had my cell phone number, but I picked up the phone anyway.

                “You need to come down, right now.” The man said.

                “Alright…” I said, hanging up. I looked at Samantha.

                “I’m needed in the monitoring station. I’ll be back soon.” I said. She nodded. I stepped out to the used car that we’d unhooked and got in. I turned the car on and Cecil’s voice greeted me.

 _…_ _and swore that he would discover the truth. No one responded because it’s really hard to take him seriously in that headdress of his._

                I turned off the radio. I drove quietly to the station and got out, being greeted by one of my scientists. He began to speak very quickly, in jumbled up sentences.

                “Calm down. Explain what is going on.” I told him, patting his shoulder.

                “Earthquakes. There are large-scale earthquakes going on right now. We were thinking it was maybe the machines, so we need help re-setting them.” He said. I nodded, feeling a slight sense of nervousness. I entered, and sure enough we were getting readings of large-scale earthquakes. I quietly re-calibrated one of the machines, and reset the rest. It was still for a while, as was all of them. Then, just as I was about to turn to the scientist, the readings picked up again. I reset the machine I re-calibrated, and re-calibrated the rest. Again, the machine went silent for a while. Just as much time passed before it began to pick up on the readings.

                “Well, uh, I guess we’re getting a really bad earthquake.” I said, scratching my head. I took out my notebook and jotted this down. As if on cue, a member of Night Vale radio came asking questions about this. I squinted at him.

                _They always show up right when we discover something._ I jotted down, _And always asking about that exact thing we’re researching or discover. Cecil always delivers the information as the next segment. Is it possible that Cecil knows what we’re doing? If so, how? Samantha mentioned his eye tattoo. It was closed when we first met, but open when he chatted with me. Does that have something to do with this?_

                “Carlos, what do we say?” One of the scientists whispered to me. I looked up from my notebook and adjusted my glasses.

                “There have been extreme seismic shifts going on right below us that we should be feeling, but aren’t.” I said, “We double checked the machines, calibrated them, and we even reset them. They still give off the same reading. The strange part is nobody, not even I, can feel them.”

                “Should we be concerned?” He asked me.

                “No, not yet. We’ll try to deliver more information when we figure this out.” I told him. The boy nodded and waved, stepping out. I closed my notebook and put it away.

                “You think you can handle things here?” I asked. They nodded. I gave them a nod and headed out to the car. I got in and turned the car on. I sat in the car, motionless and still. Nervously, I turned on the radio.

_Carlos and his scientists at the monitoring station near Route 800 say their seismic monitors have been indicating wild seismic shifts — meaning to say that the ground should be going up and down all over the place. I don’t know about you folks, but the ground has been as still as the crust of a tiny globe rocketing through an endless void could be. Carlos says that they’ve double-checked the monitors and they are in perfect working order. To put it plainly, there appears to be catastrophic earthquakes happening right here in Night Vale that absolutely no one can feel._

_Well, submit an insurance claim anyway. See what you can get, right?_

                I turned the radio off again, quickly. My heart was pounding. I pulled out my notebook with a shaking hand. I tore out the page where I wrote about Cecil, and put that notebook away. I always carried two, so I pulled the second one out. I transcribed what I initially wrote, and made a new paragraph.

                _Cecil did report on what we just told the boy from Night Vale community radio. How did he do that? Did the boy sprint? Obviously he had too little time to get back to the radio station from here, so something is definitely wrong, or at least strange. Come to think of it, the boy had purple eyes. I remember that Cecil had purple eyes too. Is Cecil psychic? The boy smelled faintly of Vanilla as well. That vanilla smell unnerves me. It doesn’t seem natural. Why would he smell like that? I need to go check out the station. Later, during the break._

                I looked up and sighed, pulling out of the monitoring station. I turned the radio on and ignored the music. I checked my watch as the sun set, and noticed it was off. Off by ten minutes. Right then I received a text from Samantha. I pulled over and checked it. She sent that Cecil stopped by, and had just left. She said that they found that the sun set ten minutes after it was supposed to.

                _Welcome back, listeners._

 _The sun didn’t set at the correct time today, Carlos and his team of scientists report. They’re quite certain about it. They checked multiple clocks and the sun definitely set ten minutes later than it was supposed to._ _I asked them if they had any explanations but they did not offer anything concrete. Mostly they sat in a circle around a desk clock, staring at it, murmuring, and cooing._

_Still, we must be grateful to have the sun at all. It’s easy to forget in this hot, hot, **hot**  desert climate, but things would actually be slightly harder for us without the sun. The next time the sun rises, whatever time that turns out to be, take a moment to feel grateful for all the warmth and light and even, yes, extreme heat that our desert community is gifted with._

A chill ran down my spine. This time, I wasn’t there. I drove quickly to the station. I’d packed a handheld radiation detector, and took it out. I walked up to the door and it began going crazy. I knocked, and an intern let me in. I walked to the booth where Cecil sat at his desk. It had everything neatly organized, and a microphone sitting on top of it. There was a photo next to the microphone on my right. There were various stacks of paper, labeled by story importance in a numerical order. Since ten was the closest pile to his right hand, I assumed he was right-handed and ten was the most important. He looked up from reading a story, and smiled. He began the public service announcement, and I stepped inside.

                “Sorry for disturbing you.” I told him. He waved his hand.

                “The next story was pre-recorded. We do this so that I can take some breaks.” He said. He stared at the machine I was holding in my hands. It was beeping more than it had been before. A chill ran down my spine again. Obviously the station was experiencing extreme radiation, but from what? I began to smell vanilla.

                “What’s this for?” He asked, pointing at the radiation detector. I didn’t want to freak him out by telling him exactly what I was looking for, so I told him I was looking for materials. He tried to inquire more about them, but I walked to the microphone. It went bonkers, beeping out of control. This may be the point of radiation, but I wasn’t sure. I couldn’t take chances, tough.

                “You need to evacuate…” I said, feeling intense worry and fear, “Now.”

                “But—.” Cecil began to protest.

                “I’m serious. This is dangerous.” I told him. I quickly left, and got into the car. I drove away quickly, the radio still on. I was heading for the lab.

_Carlos, perfect and beautiful, came into our studios during the break earlier but declined to stay for an interview. He had some sort of blinking box in his hand covered with wires and tubes. Said he was testing the place for “materials.” I don’t know what materials he meant but that box sure whistled and beeped a lot. When he put it close to the microphone it sounded like, well, like a bunch of baby birds had just woken up. Really went crazy. Carlos looked nervous. I’ve never seen that kind of look on someone with that strong of a jaw. He left in a hurry. Told us to evacuate the building. But then, who would be here to talk to sweetly to all of you out there?_

_Settling in to be another clear night and pretty evening here in Night Vale. I hope all of you out there have someone to sleep through it with. Or, at least, good memories of when you did._

_Goodnight, listeners. Goodnight._


	2. Glow Cloud

I woke up in the morning with a start. I looked around a little, making sure I was still alive. I was in a motel room, one I had started renting. Then I began to question why I was freaking out, putting on my glasses. Obviously it shouldn’t have bothered me. Why did it though? I looked at my notebook and opened it up. I re-read the passage about Cecil. It didn’t seem to be from me, but I remembered writing it. Why was I—am I—so freaked out by him?

                _Cecil, on the outside, seems to be a wonderful guy_ , I added to the passage, _but something about the monotone he uses disturbs me slightly. He has no distinction in his voice when he talks about things that obviously should have emotion. But when I am mentioned, his voice is soft and sweet. Why me?_

Sighing, I closed the notebook. It was becoming more of a journal than an actual note-taking book. I stared at it for quite some time before just sighing. I might as well keep this going, since it was a good way for me to keep track of my thoughts. I stood up and stretched. As I did this I saw a movement out of the corner of my eye. I looked where I saw it, and nothing was there. I distinctly remembered a book being there before. It was one of my favorites, and it concerned me that it wasn’t there. I picked up my journal and jotted down that the book had disappeared. I put on my watch and looked at the time. I checked the alarm clock next to me. It was a minute off. I blinked. My watch is an analog clock, meaning it’s set to the exact time of whatever location I’m in. Meaning my watch would never be wrong. So, either I was imagining things, or this clock was off. I waited for the minute to pass, and it was exactly one minute behind my watch. I set the clock one minute ahead when the minute passed again, and sighed. I walked to the small kitchen in the hotel room and began to make myself some sort of breakfast. I felt something brush against my leg. I felt an intense chill as I looked down. It was just a stray cat. It mewed, as if expecting something. I picked up the cat and examined it, and it purred loudly. It rubbed its head against my shoulder, and I chuckled. The cat was an orange and black tabby, thin from not being fed often. I placed it on the counter. Judging by the body size and shape, I determined it was a tomcat. The cat stared at my bowl of cereal as I fixed myself another. I pushed the first bowl over to the cat. He looked up at me with dark green eyes, flicked his tail, and began to eat the cereal.

                “I wonder how you got in.” I mumbled idly. I scratched his ear. He purred as he ate. I looked up at the window. The window was broken, but it looked like it was broken from my side out.

                “So that’s how you got in.” I told him. The cat had finished his cereal as I finished mine, and we just stared at each other for a while. He flicked his tail a few times, and I just chuckled.

                “You know,” I said, “I was always a cat person. I just always had dogs in the family.”

                The cat meowed in reply, and jumped down from the counter. I knew he wouldn’t be leaving anytime soon, since he took his place on the bed, on my pillow. He purred as he curled up. I stood up and headed for the shower. I stared at myself for a little in the mirror. I had some stubble and my black curly hair was getting long enough for me to pull it back into a ponytail. I took off my glasses and sighed. They were red, square glasses. I had black glasses, but those were the wrong prescription. Those were for a last resort. I sighed. My eyes were a dark grey, but they were basically black. I made a mental note to get a razor soon, since I needed to shave. I showered quietly, and dressed. I checked my phone that was now buzzing. It was Amber, another one of our scientists.

                “Yeah?” I asked, putting my shoes and lab coat on.

                “Samantha’s going crazy.” Amber said. In the background I could hear her yelling. I sighed.

                “Why?” I asked. My tone sounded more frustrated than worried, which was by accident.

                “She’s still upset about the radio broadcast from yesterday.” Amber said, chuckling a little, “She thinks Cecil is ‘a creepy stalker who doesn’t deserve you and he should end up with me’ and blah, blah, blah.”

                “I see. Well I’ll let her know when I’m interested.” I said, chuckling. Amber laughed. She and I had met in college. She knew how I was about dating people within my occupation. It was a dangerous mixture, considering you couldn’t exactly just leave the assignment you were on—unless it’s this one of course. I walked back out to the main room after hanging up. The cat was watching the floor, flicking its tail. I sighed and waved to the little fellow before heading out the door. I turned around and saw a giant, glowing cloud in the sky. It confused me greatly. It was a dark purple. I blinked a couple of times and rubbed my eyes. The cloud was still there. I sighed, and headed to my car. The radio came to life.

_…Although, I would not go so far as to endorse their suggestion to run directly at the cloud, shrieking and waving your arms, just to see what it does._

I drove to the lab, not trying to question too much about this town. When I got in, Samantha was sitting in a chair, frustrated. She looked up at me, and looked away from me. I sighed and went to my station, turning around in the chair.

                “So what oddities are we looking for today?” I asked Amber. She checked the clipboard list we had started. She looked at the last one on the list and sighed.

                “The microwave is causing food to explode.” She said. I blinked.

                “Frozen food or all food?” I asked. She sighed.

                “Frozen food mostly. If we put in refrigerated food it depends on how cold it is. If we set it out and make it room-temperature we can microwave it.” Justin said. I nodded. I glanced over at the fridge.

                “I want to see what happens with water first.” I said, getting up. The radio was on, and we all stopped when Cecil began his next segment.

                _Here’s something odd: there is a cat hovering in the men’s bathroom at the radio station here. He seems perfectly happy and healthy, but it’s floating about four feet off the ground next to the sink. Doesn’t seem to be able to move from its current hover-spot. If you pet him, he purrs, and he’ll rub on your body like a normal cat if you get close enough. Fortunately, because he’s right by the sink, it was pretty easy to leave some water and food where he could get it, and it’s nice to have a station pet._

                I blinked. I was intensely confused, and turned to Amber.

                “Write that down.” I said. She nodded quickly and wrote. _Cecil and I have found cats today. Is this coincidence, or is this the town trying to do something to us? If I tell the others they’re probably just going to say it’s a coincidence and that I need to relax. This bothers me, though._ I wrote in my journal.

                _Wish it wasn’t trapped in a hovering prison in the men’s bathroom, but listen: no pet is perfect. It becomes perfect when you learn to accept it for what it is._

“Why did you want me to write that down?” Amber asked, looking at me. I sighed.

                “Today I found a cat in my hotel room.” I said, “Also, I want to know if you can take the cat and move it around, or if it’s just stuck there.”

                “Ah. Well, back to the microwave.” Amber said. I nodded. Amber guided me to the microwave in question. It wasn’t plugged in. I walked and grabbed one of our spare beakers and filled it up with water. I walked quietly to the freezer we had and put it in there. I closed the freezer and sighed.

_The City Council, in cooperation with government agents from a vague yet menacing agency, is asking all citizens to stop by the Night Vale Elementary School gymnasium tonight at 7:00 for a brief questionnaire about mysterious sights that definitely no one saw and strange thoughts that in no way occurred to anyone. Because all of us are normal, and to be otherwise would make us outcasts from our own community._

_Remember: if you see something, say nothing. And drink to forget._

                Amber sighed. I looked at her. I saw a blush across her cheeks. She closed her eyes and sighed again, one that sounded more like longing than frustration.

                “Do we have to go to that?” She asked. I shook my head.

                “We’re not technically citizens. The full brunt of the rules apply after one year, if we stay that long. Most of what is said on the radio about stuff citizens have to do can be ignored.” I told her, folding my arms across my chest.

                “While we wait,” I added, “What else do we have on the list that we can check out really quickly?”

                “Well,” Justin said, holding the clipboard, “I wrote the Glow Cloud on my list. I wanted to go do what the secret police were saying to do, since I’ve heard that nobody has done this before.”

                “I don’t think that’s—.”I started. A thud was heard just outside. Then another. A third, then fourth, then fifth. It sounded like it was raining. I walked to the window. I saw small animals raining down from the sky, some of them bloody, while others showed parts of their internal organs. I felt sick. I closed my eyes tightly and gagged, covering my mouth with my right hand. I walked slowly away from the window. I sat on one of the nearest tables I found with my left. I breathed slowly. Amber came and began to rub my arm. I opened my eyes and looked at her. I gave her a weak smile.

                “This is why I’m not a vet or a doctor.”I said.

                “Why?” Justin asked. This obviously didn’t bother him. I sighed. I gave him a look, and he picked up on it, softly saying “oh” while looking out of the window. I sighed again and shook my head. I looked back at Samantha, who was just quiet. She was watching the ground.

                “What’s wrong?” I asked her finally. She looked up at me. She sighed.

                “I just… I think this town is getting to me.” She said. I nodded. There were now several people in the room.

                “How many others are having the town affect them?” I asked. They all turned.

                “That’s a strange question.” David asked.

                “How many of you are feeling like I am? Like something is wrong, but they can’t place their finger on it? How many of you are hearing someone whispering in your ear, telling you to leave?” Samantha suddenly shrieked. In a panic, I looked back at her. She grabbed a clipboard and began to charge for the nearest scientist. That was, unfortunately, me. Suddenly she froze. She blinked a few times, and then lowered the clipboard. She turned her gaze skyward.

                “All hail.” She whispered. She then collapsed to the ground, twitching. I stood there in mostly shock, and we all watched in confusion.

                “I don’t feel like _that._ ” David said, giving an uncomfortable laugh. I felt myself break into a smile, despite this serious situation. I heard Amber giggle. Richard was laughing. Thomas was even laughing. I suddenly broke into laughter. If people from the outside were looking in, I’m pretty sure they would think we were insane. Maybe this would have helped us fit in. I’m not sure. The man on the radio suddenly got my attention.

                _The Glow Cloud does not need to converse with us. It does not feel as we tiny humans feel. It has no need for thoughts or feelings of love._

                I felt fear for Cecil. What was wrong with him?

                _The Glow Cloud simply is._

This did _not_ sound like Cecil. Who was this imposter?

_All hail the mighty Glow Cloud!_

Why would Cecil be praising the cloud that glows in the sky, now dubbed the Glow Cloud? What’s wrong with him?!

_All hail!_

He must be feeling what Samantha felt. Were they connected in some way?

                _And now, slaves of the Cloud, the weather._

                “Carlos, is something wrong?” Thomas asked me. He sounded genuinely concerned, which snapped me out of it. I shook my head.

                “Were you listening to that?” I asked him.

                “The radio? Kinda.” He answered.

                “That didn’t sound normal.” I said. I walked to Samantha and lightly touched her arm. She stirred slightly. I inspected her causally, but noticed nothing wrong. She gently woke up, and stared at me. A bright red blush formed over her face. I sighed, standing up. I took out my notebook.

                _Samantha and Cecil both gave hail to the Glow Cloud._ I wrote, _Since she said the same thing as him, could he be psychic? Either that, or the Cloud just possessed them both. I doubt that though._

                I went to the freezer and checked on the water. It wasn’t completely frozen, so I just closed the freezer. I sighed and looked up at the ceiling. I closed my eyes and listened to the thumps of dead animals. I realized my car was probably damaged to no end now. I sighed, and walked to the door. I braced myself, and opened it. The vans were okay, which was awesome, but the car was in shambles. The windshield was broken, the roof dented, the back window was broken, and dead animals littered the inside of the car. I winced.

                “What’s wrong?” Thomas asked. I carefully took the key to the car off of my key ring and handed it to Thomas. He took it gratefully.

                “If you don’t see the problem, obviously that means you deserve it.” I told him calmly, patting his shoulder. I walked back inside, to catch what Cecil was saying next.

                _Sorry, listeners. Not sure what happened in that earlier section of the broadcast—as in I actually_ don’t remember _what happened. Tried to play back the tapes, but they’re all blank, and smell faintly of vanilla._

I knew it. Something was wrong there. But, it could have been me smelling something, like I was sort of predicting the event.

                _The Glow Cloud, meanwhile, has moved on. It is now just a glowing spot in the distance, humming east to destinations unknown. We may never fully understand, or understand at all what it was and why it dumped a lot of dead animals on our community._

I smirked at Justin. Now I guess he couldn’t go running at it now.

                _But, and I’m going to get a little personal here, that’s the essence of life, isn’t it?_

_Sometimes you go through things that seem huge at the time, like a mysterious glowing cloud devouring your entire community._

                I walked to Samantha, missing the next few things Cecil said.

                “How are you feeling?” I asked her. She stared at me blankly.

                “Confused. I don’t remember what happened.” She said. I nodded, and smiled at her.

                “That’s not important right now. Do you want to stay here?” I asked her. She nodded intensely. I sighed.

                “Why would I want to leave?” She asked me. A trace of something in her voice deeply crept me out. I stood up quickly and took a couple steps away from her. She smiled, and I shivered intensely.

                _Goodnight, listeners. Goodnight._


	3. Station Management

I woke up to Gregory pawing my face. I sat up and sighed, stretching. It had been a couple of weeks since Samantha tried to attack me. Gregory meowed impatiently. It was about noon now, and I’d overslept by about six hours, had I not taken the day off.

                “Calm down.” I told him, softly scratching behind his ear. He purred loudly and rubbed his head against my arm. I got up and looked around. I’d gotten a little apartment for myself, that obviously allowed pets, and it was nice. It was very cozy. I moved in late last night, just so that I could call someplace home, and because I was already planning on taking today off. I stood up and scratched my head. I walked to my desk and grabbed my glasses. I slipped them on and sighed, looking around. It was a little bare, but it functioned perfectly. I felt something wrap around my ankle. I glanced down at a tentacle-like appendage. I screamed and it tugged me. I fell to the ground, kicking at it. I couldn’t see what was attacking me. Gregory gave a lion-like roar—for a housecat, at least— and jumped down from the bed. He dove under the bed and began to bite. As he distracted whatever-it-was that was attacking me, I managed to get myself free. I darted to the little kitchen and grabbed one of the knives from a knife set Old Woman Josie gave me. I was grabbed again by the tentacle, and dragged out of the kitchen. Gregory had dragged the thing out, and it was a book. My favorite book, that is. I stared in a fearful confusion, as I stabbed the tentacle holding me. I cut it off, and I didn’t hesitate before getting onto my knees and arching the knife downward, striking the book. It gave a shrill cry, and fell limp. Gregory came to me, hissing at the book. He backed away slowly, as did I. I grabbed my phone and texted Amber that my book attacked me, and that she needed to look into that immediately. She replied by simply texting ‘already on it’, like she was preoccupied with something. I felt Gregory flick his tail lightly against my leg. I sighed, and went to make us breakfast. He never ate regular cat food. He only ate whatever cereal I’d made for myself. I flicked the radio on, just to see what Cecil was saying today.

                _Listeners, we are currently fielding numerous reports that books have_ stopped working. _It seems that all over Night Vale, books have simply ceased functioning. The scientists are studying one of the broken books to see if they can understand just what is going on here._

“So that’s what you meant.” I mumbled, glancing at my phone. Gregory purred when I mumbled, and he came and rubbed up against me. I snickered and pet him. I finished my breakfast, and stood up. I walked to the mirror I kept in the bathroom. I had to keep my hair in a ponytail since it was so damn hot in this desert.

                “That’s it.” I told Gregory, “I’m getting this hair cut.”

                He meowed in reply, as if asking to get one too. I smiled. He was also getting pretty shaggy. I showered and dressed, picking up Gregory as I left the apartment. I saw a couple of citizens, who waved excitedly to me. I waved back at them, very cautious. I got in the new car I’d bought, and placed Gregory in it. He jumped into the backseat and curled up. He did this like he was expecting someone else to sit there. I closed the door and started the car.

                “Nobody sits there, you know.” I told him. He gave me a look. His look seemed to say ‘oh yea? Well there will be soon.’. I shook my head and started to drive towards the barber shop I saw. I pulled into the parking lot, and I saw several people looking at me. Their expressions seemed worried. I shook my head and got out. I held the door for Gregory to jump out, and then closed it. He kept close to me like he was a dog. I thought this was odd, but he was going to get his hair cut. He trotted in before me, since I opened the door for him. Telly, the barber, glanced over at me. He smiled. The smile faded, and fear came creeping in replacement. I began to feel it too. My chest tightened and I glanced towards the radio. Is he safe? What’s going on? Is he in danger? Would he be in danger? Could he be right now!? Where is Cecil?

                The fear passed though, and I was left relaxed. And embarrassed. Why was I so concerned about someone I barely know?

                “Why’d you come here, Carlos? And who’s your little friend?” Telly asked, interrupting my thoughts.

                “We came in for a haircut. And the little guy is Gregory. He’s this stray that snuck into my hotel room with me, and I’ve just kept him. He has a collar.” I told him, smiling.

                “Did he get his parts chopped off yet?” Telly asked me. I winced. Such a crude way of asking if he was neutered.

                “He was when he came in.” I told him. Telly nodded. He called over one of his assistants, and pointed to the cat.

                “Groom the little guy, will you?” He asked. The kid nodded.

                “What do you want to do with him?” The kid asked me. I shrugged.

                “He just needs his hair tamed, I guess. If you want to pamper him go ahead, but you don’t have to if you don’t want to.” I said, scratching my head. The kid smiled. He picked up Gregory, who gave soft hisses instead of his usual purrs.

                “Does he hiss at you when you pick him up?” Telly asked me, directing me into a chair. I sat, and had the drape put around my neck.

                “Not usually, no. He purrs.” I told Telly. Telly nodded, and took my hair out of its ponytail. It was to my shoulders, and it was very curly. I focused on the premature grays and sighed. I began to think about my ex-wife. She had been so frustrating she made me grey around the temples. We’d often fought about money, like most couples. She would spend the money I made for my education. Married at eighteen…what was I even thinking?

                “Wha do you want to do today?” He asked. I sighed. I figured that since I was in the desert, I might as well cut my hair short. Keeping my hair the way it was would be too damn hot, and I wasn’t about to overheat just because it looked pretty okay. It’s not like I was going to a photo shoot, anyway.

                “Short.” I said simply. Telly smiled, and nodded. It was probably nice to have someone just give him a simple response than a complicated hairstyle requirement.

                “Are you sure? Your boyfriend might be devastated.” He asked. I felt a vast confusion. My boyfriend?”

                “Who?” I asked, looking at him through the mirror. He smiled and shook his head. He began to chuckle. He picked up the scissors.

                “I’m sorry.” He whispered, holding his breath.

                I was sitting on my couch with Gregory sitting next to me. He was cozy and content, and I was too, though Telly went a little too short. I was texting with my mother when the radio stopped me dead.

                _Two hawk-eyed listeners sent in reports that Carlos, our curious scientific visitor, was seen getting his beautiful,_ beautiful _hair cut. He was having his gorgeous hair_ shorn _! Cut! Cut short! So very short from his perfectly-shaped brilliant head!_

 _Listeners, I am not one to gossip even if it_ is _a local celebrity, but please explain to me why Carlos would strip away—decimate!—any part of his thick black hair… not to ignore the dignified, if premature, touch of gray in the temples._

Was it really that much of a crime to Cecil?

                “Jesus Christ.” I whispered.

_What treacherous barber should agree to such depravity? Who takes mere money, or even soulless joy, in depriving our small community of such a simple, but important, act as luridly admiring Carlos’s stunning coif?_

_Reports from tow intrepid sources are that it was Telly the Barber. Telly, who likes_ sports _and has posters of_ combs. _Telly the Barber seems to be the one who betrayed our community._

“Betrayed?” I repeated silently. The guilt flooded in. I’d asked him to cut my hair. What would happen to Telly? I had no idea, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that something bad would happen.

                **_Telly the Barber._**

 _It is Telly the Barber at the corner of Southwest 5 th Street and Old Musk Road, with the red and white spinning pole and the sign that says, “Telly’s”. Telly is about 5’9” with a small mustache and thick pot belly. He talks with an accent and _sneers. _Telly the Barber cut Carlos’s beautiful hair. According to reports. **Telly.**_

                “I asked him to.” I whispered. I lowered my gaze to my thighs and sighed. Cecil’s voice calmed as he gave the traffic report, but I was still feeling anxious. I glanced over at Gregory, who was eyeing me. He didn’t seem to blame me; in fact he looked worried too. He flicked his tail and stood up anxiously. His ears plastered to his head, and he arched his back. I looked at him. He was watching the window. I stood up and walked to the window, looking out of it, too. I had a perfect view of the Community Radio building, where Gregory was looking. He hissed loudly, fur standing up on end. He looked like he was about to leap out. I tried to grab him and pull him away from the open window, since I saw nothing, and he scratched me. He hissed at me, and then looked back at the building. I rubbed my hand. Suddenly, he leapt down from the windowsill and charged toward the door and meowed loudly.

                “No, you can’t go out!” I told him. He hissed again, scratching at the door now. I sighed and looked at my phone again when it buzzed. I answered my mom, but when I looked up Gregory was gone. I looked at the window. I sighed and I was about to grab my coat.

                _Hello, radio audience. I come to you live from under my desk, where I dragged my microphone and am currently hiding in the fetal position. Did you write letters? Then you should not do this anymore. Station management has opened its door for the first time in my memory, and is now_ roaming the building. _I don’t know exactly what management looks like, as that is when I took cover under my desk and I can only hope that they are not listening to what’s going out right now or else I may have sealed my fate._

My heart stopped. Cecil is in trouble?

                _I can hear only a kind of clicking footstep, and faint hissing sound like – releasing steam._

Gregory. He must have gone there to help him. But why?

                _An intern went into what management wanted and has not returned. If you are related to Jerry Hartman, afternoon board operator at Night Vale Community Radio, I am sorry to inform you that he is probably dead or at least corporeally absorbed into management permanently! Jerry and Chad the interns will both be missed, but we will surely see them in the Thanksgiving Day Dead Citizens Impersonation Contest, which this year will be in the employee lounge under the Night Vale Mall from 11:00 AM to 9:45 PM. There will be a cash bar and two Twister boards._

I began to feel very anxious. I sat down, and stared at my radio. I don’t know why I didn’t high tail it over there to see if I could help what was wrong, or at least try to save Cecil, but I just sat watching the radio.

                _I am going to see if I can make a break for the door. If you don’t hear from me again, it has truly been a pleasure. Good night, Night Vale. And goodbye!_

I sat listening to nothing for a while before shutting off my radio. I began to feel nauseous. I told my mother I’d contact her later, and that something had come up. I got up and walked out the door, heading quickly outside. I made my way quickly to the radio station. There was a crowd standing there, waiting anxiously. After five minutes, they began to file away. I sensed that everything was over as well, but I remained there. Cecil exited the building, holding Gregory. He placed Gregory on the ground, who ran to me. I caught him as he jumped into my arms and turned on my heels. I deeply considered going and talking to Cecil, but I couldn’t bring myself to. I thought I’d just dive into his arms. Which was strange, since I barely knew him. I sighed and got back up to my apartment and closed the door. I leaned against it, letting Gregory jump down from my arms. I walked into my room and grabbed my journal and began to write all of these feelings down.


	4. PTA Meeting

The sudden cell phone call woke me up with a start.  I glanced over at my phone. Samantha was calling me. I braced myself on my elbows and answered her call.

                “Yes?” I asked, trying not to sound impatient but failing. I sat up, throwing the covers angrily off of myself. Gregory meowed deeply and angrily, since I disturbed him by getting up.

                “At the PTA meeting I guess a portal opened up. You need to check it out.” She said, “A lot of people died.”

                “Jesus…” I whispered, dressing quickly, “How many?”

                “Well, your stalker says none so far.” She remarked in an icy tone. This bothered me a little, which was very strange to me.

                “Alright. I’ll head down there and check things out. Where is it?” I said. Samantha began to talk, but I heard her say something to Amber. I muted my end.

                “For the record, Samantha,” Amber said loudly, probably so I could hear it, “You’ve actually stalked someone. The guy on the radio just swoons over Carlos. There is a difference.”

                “Oh shut up.” Samantha said, “It’s in the recreation center auditorium. Good luck.”

                “Who have you stalked?” I asked, and then unmuted the phone.

                “Thanks!” I said, hanging up. I grabbed my lanyard with the “scientist pass” we’d been forced to get a few weeks ago. I slipped it over my head sighing and got in my car. I turned it on, and shut the radio off. I didn’t need Cecil narrating my life right now. I got to the scene of the bizarre occurrence, and sighed. I shut off the engine and got out, nervous. I grabbed my camera as I made my way on scene. The members of Secret Police gave me a nod, and lifted the tape. An intern tried to squeeze in with me, but they beat her back. She frowned and took notes angrily. I walked inside and held my breath. The smell is what hit me first. Copper. Lots and lots of copper. I winced as I made my way through the bloody mess. I took pictures as I walked. I came across the portal. It was about my height. I couldn’t look inside, but I was tempted to. I took a picture of the portal and grabbed a stick. I stuck it through. When I removed it, the part that I’d stuck into the portal was decayed. I saw a few kids laying around it, holding their heads and murmuring in a language either lost or not yet discovered. I took a picture of them, too. It killed me to stay on scene for this long, considering I was surrounded by a lot of dead bodies, but I needed a picture of one of those things. I walked farther along, and came across a couple more Secret Police members. He and I locked eyes, and he roughly pushed me.

                “There’s still one on the loose.” He said sternly, “Get out of here now.”

                “I just—.” I began.

                “ _Now_.” He said. I sighed and nodded, trying not to let my sigh sound relieved. I headed out, considerably faster than I’d gone in, and began to smell the fresh air. Normally I hated the desert heat, but it beat smelling the blood and entrails of dead bodies. I walked back to my car and got into it, sighing deeply. I began to flip through the photos I took, wondering what I could see from them. One of the pictures scared the shit out of me. It was one of the photos of the portals. I saw someone staring back at the camera, screaming. It looked like one of the kids that stuck his head in, but what if the kid just walked into the portal? The kid’s eyes were pure black, and it looked like he was trying to lunge for my throat. I shivered. I closed my eyes and sighed. My pulse was running ramped. I had no idea why I was so afraid. I started the car and flicked on the radio.

_It’s election season again, and you know what that means! Sheriff’s Secret Police will be coming by to collect certain family members so that everyone votes for the correct council seats and there’s no confusion. These family members will be held in a secure and undisclosed location, which everyone knows is the Abandoned Mine Shaft outside of town._

_But, don’t let the name fool you, listeners: it’s been used for years for so many kidnappings and illegal detentions that the Abandoned Mine Shaft outside of town is actually a pretty nice location these days, featuring king-sized beds, free Wi-Fi, and HBO. Also torture cubicles, but I don’t think anyone’s going to make the Council use those._

_Remember, this is America. Vote correctly, or never see your loved ones again._

_This message brought to you by the City Council._

                I relaxed, though the message was quite disturbing. How exactly _does_ Cecil do that? How does he make the most terrifying things seem like almost nothing? I sighed. I pulled away from the parking spot I was in and began to make my way to the lab.

_The Night Vale Daily Journal today announced that due to the recent economic downturn, they will start running ads on the front page. Any business interested in running one of these Platinum Premium ads should contact Editor Leanne Hart._

                I sighed and shut the car off. I got out and grabbed my camera, not looking at the picture I’d left on the screen. I quietly made my way into the lab and placed the camera on my desk.

                “How were things?” Amber asked me, coming to my side and sitting on my desk.

                “Grotesque.” I replied, sighing, “Look through the pictures if you want.”

                She grabbed my camera with a smile on her face. It vanished when she saw the picture I’d left it on. She looked at me and I raised my eyebrows. She scrolled back through my pictures and sighed.

                “Cecil said there were none who died.” She said, placing the camera back on the table.

                “Huh. Odd. Maybe the council doesn’t want anybody to panic?” I said. I shrugged when she gave me a look, raising my hands in surrender.

                “There were members of the Secret Police there, so obviously something’s going on here.” I said, “They wouldn’t just ‘miss’ all of those bodies.”

                “Yeah, you’re right I just…I have a hard time believing that.” She said. I nodded, understanding. It’s a difficult thing to try to wrap your head around. I glanced over at Samantha and watched her carefully. She didn’t seem to be crazed right now. The lab was quiet enough to finally hear the radio.

_This just came across the wire:_

_The Secret Police have issued a new statement shedding more light onto last night’s PTA meeting incident. The noisy portal and subsequent dinosaur attack that brutally interrupted discussion of swing set repairs on the elementary school playground stayed open long after Recreation Center employees thought they had rounded up all of the ancestral avian beasts, and authorities warn that there is still at least one more pteranodon on the loose._

_Citizens should cover themselves with a low-SPF sunscreen and hide in a tiled bathroom._

                I glanced over at Amber, who was watching the radio in fear. She looked at me and mouthed ‘what do we do’. I shrugged in response.

_Several curious handball players in the court next to the auditorium actually popped their heads into the portal — just to see what was on the other side of the vortex — and came back dramatically changed. The players aged several thousand years in what bystanders experienced as only a few seconds. Those handball players now straddle the unenviable border of millennially wizened and cripplingly insane._

_Since psychological and emotional damages are no longer considered valid claims by the greater medical insurance community, we are still reporting zero injuries._

_We’ll update you as further details surface in our special ongoing and very special coverage of Pteranodon Attack-Gate._

                I sighed and shook my head. Just then, I got a phone call from someone. I glanced at my phone, but the caller ID was blank. I answered the phone.

                “Hello?” I asked, “Who is this?”

                “It doesn’t matter who I am.” The person over the phone said, “Just get down to City Council this instant.”

                “Who…?” I asked again, checking for my keys.

                “There’s no time to explain.” The man said, and hung up. I blinked, and closed my phone.

                “What’s up Carlos?” Amber asked.

                “I’ll… I have to go…” I said, my confusion preventing me from making a real sentence. I walked out to my car and drove down to city council. I parked and got out, heading in.

                “…Someone’s gonna get some kind of lead poisoning!” Old Woman Josie said. I knew immediately what they were talking about.

                “That door is there for a specific purpose. Led poisoning can only happen if you come into contact with the door.” I suddenly said. Everyone turned to look at me, except one man. He was turned away from me. They all turned back towards city council after giving me small waves or smiles.

                “If we get rid of that door, the Plutonium that door is preventing from leaking into the city will, in fact, leak into the city. This will cause more problems and probably thousands of deaths! If you all take the door down, you’re going to kill yourselves!” I cried out, hoping they would hear reason.

                Nobody was listening to me, and I could tell. I felt panic shoot through me. I glanced around, and began to mutter incoherently to myself.

                “There’s no time…No more time…” I muttered to the tape recorder I’d bring to Council meetings. I charged out of city council, and smelled lavender. That goddamn lavender smell is going to drive me up a wall. I got into my car and began to drive.

                _…Old Woman Josie agreed with the measure, adding that led is a health hazard, and that the old door was nothing but a ticking time bomb. According to the meeting minutes, Josie said “That old door. Oooh, that door! Someone’s gonna get some kind of lead poisoning!”_

                “Stop it. Shut your mouth, Cecil.” I muttered, feeling panic taking over. I pulled over in order to not kill anyone with my out-of-control mind.

                _Carlos, beautiful Carlos, tragically shorn of his locks, reportedly was the only dissenting voice. But it is not clear he actually opposed the measure, as the minutes only reported him stating, “There is no time. No more time,” into a black rectangle in his hand, and then running, winded, from the Community Hall._

I opened my eyes, coming back to reality. Cecil didn’t know everything; otherwise he would have said so. Looking back, he could have been hiding something, but I didn’t bother myself with that at the moment. I sighed and leaned back in the seat, closing my eyes.

                _According to Old Woman Josie, he was still absolutely perfect, and smelled of lavender chewing gum._

_More breaking news on the pteranodons. We humbly offer the following retractions from our previous reports:_

_Secret Police are now reporting that the offending beasts were not pteranodons after all, but pterodactyls._

I began to drive again, much more of a clear head. I found myself heading to the lead door. I might as well go and see if they’re going to remove it, and see if it would pose any health risk.

                _Also pteranodons aren’t even dinosaurs as the station previously stated—just winged reptiles that lived about 70 million years after pterodactyls._

I got to the door and almost shut the car off. I wanted to hear what else Cecil would say.

                _Finally, earlier we reported a death toll of zero when, in fact, the number is closer to 38. We regret these errors._

I shut off the car, sighing. I got out and went to the trunk, pulling out some of the radiation equipment I had. I dropped them to the ground and grabbed the one that read Plutonium levels. I walked carefully up to the door, regretting not grabbing any form of protective equipment, but there was no plutonium in there. The reading said “0”. I scratched my head. I carefully walked to the door and listened to it without touching it. I heard nothing coming from the door. I then heard a faint whisper.

                “Let me out.” It whispered.

                “What?” I asked, to see if I could communicate with it.

                “I said let me out.” It said in response.

                “Why do you want to be let out?” I asked. There was a long pause before it responded again.

                “I want to kill you.” It said. I shivered. I stepped back a little from the door.

                “Kill me specifically?” I asked, audible nerves in my voice.

                “Yes.” It replied, “You.”

                “Why?” I asked again.

                “You are the one who wanted to keep me locked in, no?” It asked, its voice becoming more real. It sounded like a little girl. I shivered.

                “Yes, but I thought you were plutonium. That’s why I came; they ignored me and are going to remove the door anyway. I came to see if there was plutonium—.” I began.

                “Enough lies.” The girl said. She then fell silent. I clenched my jaw.

                “When this door is opened, I shall come and kill you.” She said. I kept my jaw clenched. I sighed and walked back to my car, getting in and closing the door. I turned it on.

                _If you can hear my voice speaking live, then you know; we are not history yet. We are happening now. How miraculous is that?_

_Goodnight listeners, Goodnight._


	5. The Shape in Grove Park

“I told you, Carlos.” The little girl said to me. I blinked and turned around, and sure enough there was a little girl holding a knife. She came for me, lunging and stabbing me in the shoulder. I screamed out, but no sound came out of my mouth. I was stabbed repeatedly, and I kicked and finally screamed out loud, getting her to stab me harder.

                _Close your eyes._

                I followed what the voice told me to do.

                _Let my words wash over you. You are safe now._

Slowly I opened my eyes. Gregory was flicking his tail angrily at me. He glared. I sighed.

                “I’m sorry.” I said. Gregory meowed impatiently, and I sighed. I picked him up and carried him off of the radio. Cecil was talking, but I wasn’t really listening to him. I felt a little guilty for not listening to him.

                “He works hard, that’s for sure.” I muttered under my breath. I got Gregory his cereal and ate mine, sighing. I picked up my journal and wrote down what happened yesterday, since I’d been so freaked out by that little girl… Who am I kidding, could it even _be_ a little girl?

                “What else could it be, a fucking shape shifter?” I mutter, “I wouldn’t be surprised.”

                Gregory mewed at me. I looked at him. I sighed. This city was getting to me. I didn’t know why. I sighed again. I got a call from Amber. I sighed, picking it up.

                “City Council is going to remove that shape in Grove Park.” She said.

                “Are they?” I asked, trying to sound interested.

                “Are you alright?” Amber replied. I sighed, rubbing my head.

                “I’ve been fucked up ever since I saw the damn picture.” I told her. I heard her sigh.

                “This really isn’t like you.” She said, “The sudden peeved-ness you’ve been giving us and the sudden outbursts of swearing…”

                “I don’t know what’s wrong.” I told her, “If I did I’d get help but…”

                “Do you not trust anyone?” She asked.

                “Do you really think it’s a good idea to see a psychiatrist from this town?” I asked her in response. She chuckled.

                “Yeah some of the other people who did ended up leaving us.” She said, “Do as you need, ok?”

                “I think I need a day off or something.” I told her.

                “Take one today.” She said. I nodded, chuckling.

                “Alright. You can run things?” I asked her.

                “Of course Carlos!” She said, “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

                “Yeah.” I replied. She hung up the phone after saying her goodbyes. I hung up my end and sighed, rubbing my head. I hadn’t slept well these past few weeks. That little girl, if it was a girl, freaked me out. When would they open the door? It was killing me. I looked up at the ceiling and sighed again. I closed my eyes. I sat there for a while before opening them again. It had been a whole ten minutes. Gregory looked at me and nuzzled my hand.

                “Fine. I’ll head to bed.” I told him. He perked up and jumped over to the bed, curling up on the pillow next to mine. I followed after him, a little sluggish. I climbed into the bed, wrapped myself up in the covers, and fell asleep to Cecil’s voice.

                _Cortez said that research indicates that consumers are more likely to_ buy _products if they are available and for sale, and that Green Market and Grocery shoppers tend to purchase_ food _items. Cortez said that the decision to sell food at the Green Market was a controversial one, as many board members and Co-Op shareholders feel fruit and vegetable sales will interfere with their ongoing secretive domestic espionage operations._

_When reached for comment, our source within the Secret Police only breathed heavily into the phone while tapping and as-yet uncracked code into the receiver._

I looked over at Cecil, who was watching me with careful purple eyes. He smiled. I grinned at him.

                “It’s amazing to think that you’d willingly come with me.” He said, his voice sounding nervous but flawless as ever.

                “Really?” I asked. He nodded.

                “Why not? I mean, you need my help.” I told him. He smiled. Cecil played for me the code of tapping. I listened and sighed.

                “What is it?” He asked me.

                “Morse code.” I told him. I got up and grabbed my bag, digging through it a little. I glanced back and Cecil had stood up. He began to walk over to where I was standing, and hugged me. I closed my eyes and pretended not to see. It was very warm. He pressed his lips to my neck.

                “ _Sandero could not be reached for comment. Probably. We didn’t try.”_ Cecil mumbled into my neck. I turned around.

                “What?” I asked him. He smiled and shook his head. I was slightly taller than Cecil, and my lips met his forehead, which had his closed eye. The eye was as smooth as the rest of his skin. I then kissed his nose.

                “ _Nothing left. You can let go now. Let go. Shhhhh. Let go.”_ Cecil said. I barely touched his soft lips with mine.

                _Tired of your home?_

I jumped awake. I blinked and rubbed my eyes, sitting up. I was blushing intensely. I glanced around nervously. I blinked heavily and scratched my head. My phone began to ring again.

                “Hello?” I asked.

                “Did you just wake up?” Amber asked.

                “I did.” I told her.

                “How was your nap?” She asked. I paused for a minute, but decided I shouldn’t mention it.

                “Why are you calling?” I asked her.

                “The shape moved.” She said, “Right in front of the radio station too.”

                “Hmm…” I said.

                “What should we do?” She asked. I sighed.

                “Even if we get most everyone out of the building, Cecil is a stubborn man and won’t leave until his show is over.” I told her, “I’d keep an eye on it, but don’t evacuate the building until we absolutely need to.”

                “Alright. Oh by the way, I’m coming over.” She said.

                “Now?!” I asked, jumping out of bed.

                “Yes, now. Do whatever you need to do.” She said, hanging the phone up. I grabbed some cloths and got in the shower right away. I cleaned up and got out and was able to mostly dry my hair and comb it out before a knock came to my door. I sighed and opened it.

                “Hey I brought rom-coms and ice cream.” She said. She smiled.

                “You’re so funny.” I told her, letting her in. She saw Gregory and immediately awed.

                “You have a cat?” She asked.

                “Yeah.” I told her, “He just kinda wandered in the hotel room I had and I never got rid of him. Besides, he saved my life when books were broken.”

                “Oh?” She said, petting him. He seemed ok with her.

                “Yeah. The book grabbed me with a tentacle appendage and tried to eat me.” I told her, sitting down.

                “Oh shit dude.” She said. I nodded. Amber sat across from me. She smiled at me.

                “Cecil.” She said, “He’s so cute.”

                I think I must have given her a look, because she was taken aback.

                “You don’t think so?” She asked. I clenched my jaw, remembering my dream. I began to flush a little.

                “Oh so you _do_ think he’s cute!” She said.

                “I…” I began, but sighed.

                “You what?”

                “I don’t know what to think.”

                “Why not?”

                “Well, he’s a creepy stalker. He’s been talking about me left and right, whenever I do something he’s instantly reporting it. It’s bothersome.”

                “But…?”

                “Well, his _voice_. Try to tell me it’s not in the least bit attractive.”

                Amber stared at me for a little, and I was surprised by my honesty. I blinked a couple of times and sighed, smiling a little.

                “Well his voice is amazing.” She said, “I want him to read me bedtime stories.”

                “Yeah.” I said. I felt a sense of relief that I had someone to talk to about my weird and confused feelings.

                “What happened in your dream though?” She asked me.

                “I was listening to the radio as I fell asleep, so naturally it was about what I was listening to. Cecil had just gotten done telling everyone about the taps he heard in the phone. I was helping him solve it. I was standing near my bag looking for something, probably a book with Morse code in it, when he came and hugged me from behind.” I told her.

                “Oh my god…” She said, her voice a little high pitched. She had her hands on the side of her cheeks.

                “It gets better.” I told her, “He mumbled into my neck and I kissed his forehead and nose.”

                “Then go get him!” She said to me, pushing me a little. I chuckled.

                “Not right now.” I told her, “I don’t want to make the first move.”

                “Why not?!” She asked. I raised my eyebrow, and she seemed to remember.

                “Oh yeah.” She said. The last time I made the first move and boldly asked to date someone, it led to me asking her to marry me, and her asking me for a divorce. I wasn’t going to let that happen again. I don’t think that I could handle that kind of a relationship again. We’d fallen silent, and the radio came through.

                _Now that I think about it, I have also never bothered to actually check whether this mic is attached to any sort of recording or broadcasting device._

 _And it_ is _possible that I am alone in an empty universe, speaking to no one, unaware that the world has held aloft merely by my delusions and my smooth, sonorous voice. More on this story as it develops, I say, possibly only to myself._

                “He’s not dim, that’s for sure.” Amber told me, looking over.

                “He gets very philosophical at times. I find it actually interesting. How did he end up working as a radio host?” I said, “It seems like he’s bound to something less than he is.”

                “Oh stop it!” Amber cried out, “You’re going to make my heart explode because it’s so warm!”

                “Well I’m sorry.” I told her, “This hasn’t happened for me in a while.”

                “I know which is why it’s too cute.” She said, “I can’t wait for you two to become a thing.”

                “If he really is genuine about his feelings.” I said. I glanced down at my hands, looking at my right finger.

                “Stop it!” She said, picking up my head, “You deserve him just as much as he deserves you. He loves you, I promise!”

                I nodded, taking her word for it externally of course. I knew she was probably right, but I was always self-conscious about that kind of thing.

                “How have you and Johnson been?” I asked her. She sighed.

                “He hates me.” She said, “That’s why I joked about bringing rom-coms and ice cream.”

                “What did you tell him?” I asked her.

                “I told him he could go to hell for pulling my heart strings.” She said, “And that nobody would love him because I’d find out who he was dating next and warn them that he’s a heartless bastard.”

                “Amber…” I warned.

                “It’s true.” She said. I sighed, and nodded.

                “I told you that you could do better for yourself.” I told her.

                “So did I.” She said, smiling.

                “Touché my friend, touché.” I said, smiling back at her.

                “I’m glad we had this little talk.” Amber said. My phone began to ring again. It was Samantha this time.

                “What should you do?” Amber asked. I gave her a look as I answered the phone.

                “Cecil came by wanting to see you.” She said, “He wanted to talk to you about the moon.”

                “The moon?” I asked her, “Are you sure?”

                “Listen to the radio.” She said, abruptly hanging up. I closed my phone and listened.

                _Listeners, do you ever think about the moon? I was sitting outside last night looking at the moon and I thought, does anyone actually know what that thing is? Have there been any studies on this? I went to ask Carlos, but he hasn’t been seen much since that treacherous Telly’s vile haircut._

                I winced when Cecil mentioned Telly.

                _The moon’s weird though, right? It’s there, and there, and then suddenly it’s not. And it seems to be pretty far up. It is watching us? If not, what_ is _it watching instead? Is there something more interesting than us? Hey, watch us moon! We may not always be the_ best _show in the universe, but we_ try.

                I began to chuckle softly. Amber was chuckling too.

                “He has his moments.” I said, and Amber nodded, now laughing. I shook my head.

                “I actually want to see you explain it to him.” Amber said. I smiled. I got a phone call by Cecil. I looked at Amber and raised my eyebrows, answering my phone.

                “Hello?” I asked, as I always did.

                “What _is_ the moon? I would have asked you today at the lab but you weren’t there.” He said.

                “I’ll tell you later, you have a show on right now.” I told him, “Maybe tomorrow night.”

                “Are you going to be _free_ tomorrow?” He asked. He sounded genuinely excited about us going on a “date”

                “Well no.” I responded, “But I am going to be studying what happens when we put this green slime that started oozing out of the microwave a couple of days ago in the moonlight.”

                “Oh. So you can explain it to me then?” He said.

                “Yes.” I told him. He apologized for having to end our conversation quickly, thanking someone named Leland, and hung up the phone after I had said goodbye.

                _And now a continuation of our previous investigation into whether I am literally the only person in the world, speaking to myself in a fit of madness caused by my inability to admit the tragedy of my own existence._

 _Leland, our newest intern, recently brought me a cup of coffee. He is no longer in my field of vision, but I_ do _still have the cup of coffee, which is well made and is giving me the needed pick-me-up to continue considering this terrifying possibility._

 _Is it possible that I only_ imagined _Leland, and forgot making myself this cup of coffee? But then, who would have_ grown _this coffee? Where was this coffee cup procured from?_

“Well he just got off the phone with you!” Amber said, “How can he be alone?”

                “He is having a crisis about his own existence, I think.” I told her, “And he’s just trying to figure it out.”

                “Well alright. If you kiss him he’d sure as hell know!” Amber teased.

                _I have to say, Leland’s existence, as well as his finally speaking about the Shape that No One Else Would Speak About, has reassured me greatly about my lonely and solipsistic vigil here at this microphone._

_He is handing me the note—thank you, Leland—lemme see here…ah._

_It says that the City Council believes the reason for the violent reaction of the Shape Formerly in Grove Park that No One Acknowledges or Speaks About is because I have been acknowledging and speaking about it, which has made it angry. They urge me to stop speaking of it, and never do it again, and in exchange they’ll move it somewhere else so we can get our front loading zone back._

_After brief consideration…I have decided to accept the Council’s offer, because they are trustworthy leaders looking out for our better future, and also because Leland just got vaporized by a strange red light emanating from the station entrance._

_To the family of Leland, we thank you for his service to the cause of community radio, and join you in mourning his loss._

_And, without further ado, nor ever again mentioning anything we shouldn’t, let’s go to the weather._

                Gregory jumped up onto my lap, tearing my attention away from the music that was now playing. Amber and I had mindless chatter during the music section and a little into Cecil’s final report before he departed.

                “You’re looking like you’re going to pass out Carlos.” Amber said, grabbing her purse.

                “Thank you for coming over at least. And don’t tell anyone about the conversation that took place today. I don’t know if I’d be ready to tell people just yet.” I told her.

                “Your secret is safe with me.” She said. She waved, and left me. I changed into my pajamas and crawled into my bed, snuggling under the covers.

          _Ladies, gentlemen, listeners,_ _you_ _._

_I am speaking now but I am saying nothing. I am just making noises and, as it happens, they are organized in words and you should not draw meaning from this._

_The service for Leland will be lovely. We will throw flowers and weep. He will be buried in the break room as is the custom. His family will come and moon about the coffee as though we have answers._

_We do not have answers. I am not certain that we even have questions. I have chosen to not be certain of anything at all._

_This is Cecil, generally, speaking to you, metaphorically, for Night Vale Community Radio._

_And I would like to say in the most nebulous terms possible, and with no real world implications or insinuations of objective meaning:_

                Cecil had begun to hug me in my dream after the seventh sentence, and we were close enough to kiss. Cecil suddenly began to smile, and his words grazed my lips softly.

                _Goodnight listeners. Goodnight._


	6. The Drawbridge

My phone was ringing loudly. I distinctly remembered silencing it whenever I go to sleep so I’m not bothered anymore. Waking up to a phone call can be quite annoying. I opened my eyes and looked at my phone with a glare. I then wondered who the hell turned it on in the first place. Gregory was cocking his head at it, his ears perked up. I grabbed my phone lazily and answered it.

                “Tell them that this is a stupid idea!” A man said over the line.

                “What?” I asked. I heard an audible sigh from the other side.

                “A drawbridge Carlos! They want to build a drawbridge!” The man said. I felt a pang of panic and sat up. This stranger had been calling me for a while but I didn’t know he _knew my name._

                “How do you know my name and number?” I asked, “Who are you?”

                There was silence over the other line. I held my breath in wait.

                “That isn’t important.” The man said.

                “Yes it is!” I returned, “I have no idea who you are and you know my name and number! That’s stalking if you just found them out!”

                “Turn on your radio!” The man said loudly.

                “My power is out.” I said. I paused. I just woke up, so how—I couldn’t hear Cecil’s wonderful voice this morning.

                “You need to tell them that this is a bad idea.” The man continued over the phone.

                “Why should I?” I asked, “We have a water front recreation center even though there is no water.”

                “They’re wasting money!” The man said.

                “This is a democracy.” I said, getting up and heading for the kitchen, “If we are the only two descending voices, they’ll go along with the plan anyway.”

                “If you don’t want it, maybe Cecil will agree with you.” He said.

                “How do you know Cecil?” I asked, clenching my jaw.

                “We have history.” The man said, “Could you give him a call?”

                “No.” I said, “No I won’t. Do you really expect me to help you if you don’t bother introducing yourself or even telling me who you are?”

                The man on the other line was silent for a while. I sat there quietly, waiting for a response.

                “I have a name.” The man said.

                The radio caused me to jump. Cecil’s voice suddenly filled the room.

                _To be honest, here at Night Vale Radio we don’t know exactly what the station is for, or what master it is serving. But I do know that it is a vital part of this community, and we should pitch in to help it. We welcome your support. Give us a call! We don’t have a number; just whisper “Forsaken Algonquinia” into your phone receiver, and Angels, or Facebook, or something, will deliver us an appropriate contribution from your bank account._

“What’s going on over there?” The man asked over the line. I sighed. I’d had just about enough of this man. It irked me that he was so curious.

                “Why do you care?” I asked impatiently. He paused for a while and I sighed. Gregory was scratching the wood on the counter now. I placed the stranger on speaker and muted the phone. I placed it on the counter while idly listening to Cecil. I’d finished pouring Gregory and I cereal when Cecil’s voice caught me.

                _You know what? Forget it. I can tell you right now that that was Steve Carlsberg who said that, and he is_ such _a spoilsport, that Steve!_

                I walked over to my phone and un-muted it. I also took it off of speaker.

                “So you’re Steve Carlsberg?” I asked him.

                “What of it?” Steve asked, defensively. I put him on speaker and walked back to my cereal, turning the radio up enough so I knew he caught it on the other side. I figured he didn’t listen to Cecil’s show as regularly as I did.

                _It’s laziness, pure and simple._ Laziness. _I just can’t let him ruin our town by denying Night Vale a drawbridge when he can’t even care for a tan Corolla!_

                “It seems Cecil doesn’t really like you.” I told him from across the room. The phone suddenly hung up, and I began to chuckle softly. Gregory hissed at my phone after Steve hung up.

                Cecil began to talk about Leanne Heart, and what new thing she was planning with the newspaper but I tuned that out. It was the liquidity that filled Cecil’s voice that entranced me every day his show was on. It wasn’t on every day anymore, which I missed. Usually they’d just reply the episode that Cecil made last every day until the new one came out. I sighed, and finished my breakfast.

                _The firefighters Claimed that there was some_ foul play _involved (pun intended, dear listeners), as their entire bullpen was assassinated in the middle innings with blow darts. Those murders remain unsolved and completely uninvestigated. Our hearts go out to the families of the deceased relief pitchers. Rest in peace._

                I shivered at the thought of being killed over a silly game. I sighed. This is Night Vale. I walked back into my room and noticed something was…different. I had a lot more noises than what I was used to. I got dressed and noticed I was on a second floor. Cautiously I walked downstairs and sure enough I was now in the lab. I stood there, as well as the other scientists, confused.

                “We didn’t have an upstairs before, right?” Samantha asked. I nodded.

                “I…” I started, “I guess I live here now?”

                From the radio, we all just began hearing a moaning sound. It wasn’t provocative in any way, it more sounded like Cecil was bored. All of us were just watching the radio, waiting for something different to happen, but nothing did. As I turned to talk to one of my co-workers about this strange phenomenon, Cecil announced the traffic.

                “What do you mean you live here?” Samantha asked me. I sighed.

                “Upstairs is my apartment.” I said. They all looked at each other in confusion. I shivered a little, taking out my journal and quickly jotting down what happened.

                _Sagittarius: Eat well today! You’ve earned it. And by_ it _, I mean massive food allergies. And by_ earned _, I mean acquired. I should proof this stuff before I read it out loud. Let’s try that again. You’ve acquired massive food allergies. Yes, much cleaner. Eat well!_

                I saw one of our interns looking at her plate of food, sighing slightly. She looked over at the radio.

                “Please tell me he’s joking!” She cried out, the plate half eaten. I quietly turned the page of my journal and began to jot down what the intern said. I had no idea of what Cecil said was right, but there’s only one way to figure that out.

                _Taurus: Today is your annual Crime Day. All Taurus’s are exempt from laws today._

Almost immediately after Cecil spoke, a rock was smashed through the window at the lab. A man was trying to break in. The intern had also keeled over and vomited an obvious sign of food allergies. I closed my eyes, trying not to panic. I began to hum softly, letting whoever it was ransack our lab. The man ran up to me and grabbed my shoulders, shaking me roughly. He snapped me out of the relaxing little state I was in. He had dirty blonde hair. Not the color, I mean his hair was really grubby. He had frantic blue eyes, and was covered in dirt.

                “Where is it?” He asked me. I could immediately identify him as Steve Carlsberg.

                “Are you a Taurus?” I asked him in response.

                “N—don’t change the subject! Where is it?” He said. I sighed.

                “Where is what?” I asked, sounding more defeated than I would have liked to.

                “Your radio!” He said. I looked around a little, noticing that Amber had hid it from us. I smiled at her, and she smiled back.

                “Why do you need it?” I asked him. He shook me again.

                “Don’t you realize what’s going on? Cecil is feeding you lies! He’s only saying what the government tells him to.” Steve said, “And he can’t be trusted because of that.”

                “I don’t care.” I told him, taking his grubby hands off of my lab coat, “its Cecil’s job to read what they give him, just like every other news person in the world. They can only tell a certain amount of things at a certain time.”

                _And now for a station editorial._

                “Some of Cecil’s own words, ha!” Steve said, sounding very childish.

                _Large, expensive projects are not uncommon in Night Vale. We are a patient, yet resilient, little city. We have big dreams—sometimes scary, unforgettable dreams that repeat on the same date every year and are shared by every person it town, but we make those big dreams come true._

                “Write that down, as well as what Cecil says next.” I told a different intern quickly. He nodded and quickly jotted down what Cecil said.

                _Remember the Clock Tower? It took eight years and $23 million to build. And despite its invisibility, and constant teleportation, it is a lovely structure that keeps impeccable time. It’s a classy signature for Night Vale’s growing skyline, unlike that hideous sports arena Desert Bluffs build last spring. Desert Bluffs can’t do_ anything _right. That’s where Steve Carlsberg belongs! God, what a_ jerk.

                I stared at Steve as he sent it off to the weather. I sighed.

                “Yes,” I told him sarcastically, “Cecil speaks only what the government tells him and they’re all lies.”

                “Thank you!” Steve said, not picking up on my sarcasm. Just then, loud banging could be heard on the door. I walked to the door and opened it before Secret Police could knock it down, letting them stroll in calmly. They saw the window was broken.

                “Did Steve Carlsberg do this?” One of the Secret Police members asked me.

                “Yes, why?” I asked. He nodded, looking right at where Carlsberg had been. He was gone, escaped through the window. They quickly thanked me and left, chasing after him in a black windowless van.

                A couple of days later I called Cecil. I told him what happened, and told him not to put it on his show out of fear of him possibly losing his job. He told me it was fine, and that he couldn’t lose his job. I replied by stating I didn’t want him to get hurt. Cecil let me go since he had to do the next segment.

                _Apparently, the Sheriff’s Secret Police_ agree _with me about old Steve Carlsberg, dear listeners…_

                “Why tell Cecil about that?” Amber asked me.

                “Obviously there’s a reason why Cecil hates him so much. I mean, the man doesn’t hate people from this town.” I replied.

                _I can’t tell you_ who _…let’s just say, muchos gracias, El Presidente! Mano dura,_ _cabeza, y corazón._

                I stretched, and then remembered I lived upstairs. I could go home whenever I wanted. This also meant I couldn’t take the day off. I went upstairs to my room, changing into pajamas and climbing into the bed, stroking Gregory’s fur. He purred and cuddled up to me.

                _Buenos noches, Night Vale. Goodnight._


	7. History Week

I woke up in a cold sweat. I was panting, and I sat up quickly. There had obviously been something going on downstairs, and it leaked into my dreams. People were yelling, and I heard that something in the lab had escaped, or maybe it had come into the lab and was making a mess, I wasn’t sure. I heard one of the scientists screech, as well as horrible growling noises.

                “Shit.” I said, jumping out of bed and getting dressed. I ran downstairs buttoning up my shirt, calling out for information on what _thing_ was in the lab. One of the younger scientists sat against the wall, gripping his chewed-up leg. He was moaning in pain, nearly unconscious. I felt like throwing up, but managed to walk past him to Amber. She looked as if she was about to cry, probably out of fear. She was shaking terribly. I patted her arm when I came to her and she smiled.

                “What’s going on, and please explain slowly and calmly.” I said. She nodded, taking a deep breath.

                “An orange tabby looking cat came downstairs, meowing and begging for food.” She started.

                “That’s the cat I found when…” I started to myself, but let Amber continue with his story.

                “We had some cat food in the fridge that we wanted to put in the microwave so we gave it to the cat. It looked at the food and then at Brian. He then ran towards Brian with huge teeth and grew about four times its size and attacked him.” Amber explained, “He ran when you began to call down to us.”

                I remained silent for a while. I was trying to process the fact that Gregory wasn’t a cat, but then again why am I surprised? I’ve always been allergic to cats, and maybe I thought I wasn’t allergic to him. I should be.

                “Okay…” I said, calmly, “I have no idea what we are going to do with him. What do you all think? Do we keep him sedated and study him, or do we kill him?”

                “Kill the beast…” Brian started to shout at me, but passed out before he could finish.

                “Call an ambulance!” I shouted to one of the other young scientists just sitting there watching him bleed to death.

                “I did! They said to hang up and try again tomorrow.” She said. I paused, and looked at her. I sighed, and pulled out my cell phone. I dialed the emergency number, and put the phone to my ear. I waited for someone to pick up.

                “We have someone who is bleeding—.” I started to say.

                “Please call tomorrow. We’re busy.” The woman on the other line started to say.

                _The Year 1824: The first meeting of the Town Elder council, predecessors to the City Council. Picture them--_

                The woman then hung up. I sighed, hanging up myself.

                “Apparently this episode of Cecil’s show is so important, and that’s why they aren’t coming.” I replied angrily. I wanted to just scream out into the open air, but that would be needlessly dramatic. I closed my eyes and sighed.

                “Does anybody in here have medical training?” I asked.

                “I do.” Samantha piped up. I looked at her, a little annoyed, and sighed.

                “Help him then.” I said, pointing to Brian. She nodded and began to treat Brian’s wounds.

                “You three,” I said, pointing at the three strongest men here, “follow me. We’re going to need to find the “cat” before we do anything about him.”

                “Yes sir.” They said. I told them that if they saw where he ran to it would be wonderful. In the strange cosmic move that I experienced, we also gained a basement for the lab. It was very useful for the chemical reactions we did. Naturally, the “cat” went down there. I sighed and looked over at Amber.

                “If anyone from Night Vale Radio comes, just tell them we’re too busy to talk.” I told her. She nodded. I then descended the stairs with my three companions. When we got downstairs, there were various chemicals that were knocked over, but it was simple ones that weren’t important to our research. Gregory was sitting on the table, grooming himself. He looked over at me, with bits of pant leg sticking out of his teeth. He meowed at me. One of the men passed me a gun. I froze when it was put into my hand. I learned how to fire a gun, but I never wanted to use one. I gulped, and whispered to the man beside me if it had tranquilizing bullets. He nodded. Gregory jumped down from the table and looked as if he was very hungry. I should have fed him instead of pushing him away when he tried to wake me up, but I didn’t know he was a giant monster at the time. He lowered himself to the ground and prepared to pounce. I raised the gun and fired it at him. It wasn’t a tranquilizing bullet like they told me. The men looked at each other, in shock and surprise. I, too, stood in shock and surprise. Gregory spit the bullet out, and cracked his neck. I’d just managed to piss of the one thing in this lab that will kill us. The man standing behind me took the gun from my hand and pulled me behind him. Gregory pounced on him, and he unloaded the clip of bullets into Gregory’s belly.

I wanted to scream, but I stood there in complete shock. The man bled out too quickly for the others to get Samantha. I don’t know how long I stood there, watching the two lifeless bodies before Amber came to comfort me. I asked her what time it was, and it had only been two hours. This was a lot of death for the first half of my day. I told the two big men that we had left to load Gregory onto a dissection table and we’d see what he really was. They nodded and did as I told them. I asked Amber about Brian. Brian had to have the leg amputated, but he’d live. I told her to put him upstairs and let him heal. I found my way to my desk and sat down. I was panting and shanking. I probably looked really pale, because nobody came to bother me. To calm myself down I turned on the radio. I closed my eyes.

                _Speaking of which, Night vale High School is adding metal detectors, and parents and students alike are outraged. Several parents we talked to said that NVHS students have long been recipients of shadow government-issued Uzis and rifles, as well as Tasers and armor-piercing munitions. The School Board’s decision to put up metal detectors, according to parents, impinges on the clandestine operation’s rights as a vast underground conspiracy of giant megacorporation’s and corrupt would leaders to bear arms via teenage paramilitary proxies._

                I took several deep breaths while Cecil spoke. Soon I was feeling better, but still not good. I was still light headed and shaking a little. I opened my eyes. Two scientists had gotten to dissecting Gregory and finished by now. They came over to my desk and told me what they found. As it turns out he was a dog, not a cat. It made sense for me, I’m not allergic to dogs (at least I don’t think I am). I nodded.

                “Was there any reason he was acting so…vicious?” I asked.

                “Well, he hadn’t eaten.”  The taller of the two said. I nodded, sighing. It _was_ my fault after all. A knock came to the door. I looked over at it in dread. Outside I saw an intern for the community radio. He held his pen and paper nervously. He was probably new.

                “What should we tell him?” Amber asked me.

                _You could tell him the truth_ , I thought, _and proceed to have Cecil panic about what’s going on here. Cecil could draw too much attention to this place. We don’t need that right now._

                “Tell him we’re busy with research. We’ll talk about it later.” I said. Amber looked at me, concerned. My voice was still a little shaky. Amber nodded. She walked over and opened the door. She repeated what I’d told her to, and closed the door before the intern could ask about the research. I noticed that it, in fact, wasn’t an intern. It was _Cecil._ I felt my heart pound when he looked over at me. His expression changed from happy to concern. He came back and knocked on the door again. I stood up and walked (on shaky legs) to go to the door. Amber opened it up angrily and almost shouted, but my sudden appearance at the door stopped her.

                “We can talk outside.” I told him. I grabbed the door handle from the outside and shut the door behind me.

                “What’s going on?” Cecil asked me. I felt nervous for him all of a sudden.

                “Shouldn’t you be doing a radio show?” I asked him.

                “Most of it is pre-recorded.” He replied calmly, “You didn’t answer my question Carlos. What’s going on?”

                “Well…” I started, but felt a little dizzy remembering it, “I can’t really explain…”

                Cecil stared at me for what felt like an eternity. He was looking into my eyes. His were full of concern and worry. He sighed and shifted his weight to his left foot. He cocked his head.  He pressed his lips together, and sighed.

                “I just want to make sure you’re okay. I saw you looking as pale as you do and…” Cecil started, but stopped himself. He sighed, scratching the back of his neck.

                “I appreciate you being concerned, I really do.” I told him, “But it’s best if the public—especially you—didn’t know what happened this morning.”

                “Okay. I’ll leave it be. We just haven’t heard from…” He paused, as if he wanted to say something but decided against it, “…you guys in a while.”

                “We’ll contact you when we have something to report, Cecil. I promise.” I told him. He smiled at that. I smiled back at him. I suddenly felt a slight urge to kiss him goodbye.

                “Bye Cecil.” I said awkwardly, opening the door and heading inside. I faintly heard him say goodbye to me. Amber gave me a look and I just sighed. I shook my hand, and made my way back to my desk. I plopped down and sighed again. I picked up my pen and opened the journal I used for personal use. I had to write all of this down. It would live with me in my mind and grow more morbid if I just left it. I sighed, turned on the radio, and began writing.

* * *

 

                I spent the next four hours writing. I only know it was four hours because Cecil’s show had restarted about four times by the time I finished. I was pale and dizzy again, I’d been reliving it as I wrote it down. Samantha and Amber had asked me what I was doing, and I’m pretty sure I numbly told them that I was writing down everything that happened today. I might not have been speaking English when I did so, but I told them nonetheless. I looked back through my writing and realized I was going into a lot of detail. I also had a few little statements written down that were my thoughts of when it happened. It was also in Spanish.  I tried getting up, but I ended up on the ground somehow. I was breathing heavily. I felt like I was dying. I’m pretty sure this was a panic attack, but at the time I had no idea what was wrong. I closed my eyes and tried breathing normally, but I was just hyperventilating. I was moved from my side onto my back. I was also moved from the ground to someone’s legs. This person began to stroke my hair soothingly.

                “Carlos. Dear sweet _perfect_ Carlos. You’re fine, you’re safe.” Cecil said, “You’re going to be just fine. Don’t try to speak right now, Carlos. It’s fine. I know you’re scared, but we’re all fine. Nothing bad has happened to us right now. We’ll be fine.”

                I nodded, opening my eyes. I looked into Cecil’s purple eyes. He was smiling at me softly. I was still breathing very heavily. Cecil read the look in my eyes and then began to talk. Just ramble aimlessly. I noticed everyone in the lab was surrounding us (except for Samantha, who watched from a distance). They were all watching me in concern. I understood why; they were afraid of losing another head scientist. I was put in charge of this team, and I would let them down if I went insane and had to leave. I almost told them that I was staying, but I felt like I was going to throw up if I tried talking at this point.

                I turned my attention back to Cecil’s words. He talked a lot about the town itself, but mostly he questioned things. He questioned some of the seemingly ridiculous rules of this place, but then covered himself as he usually does on his radio show by saying “they were necessary at some point and City Council probably hadn’t gotten to it yet”. He questioned some things from science, again covering himself by saying that I and my research team were very good at our jobs, and that “he wasn’t one to judge our intelligence”. He then continued to just ramble. He started to bring up Steve Carlsberg, but got too angry to continue.  More, he didn’t want to upset me again. I calmed down after about ten minutes of Cecil’s rambling. Everyone in the lab turned their attention to Cecil at this point. I don’t think a single soul (other than Samantha) wanted this to stop. It was surprisingly intimate on my end, and probably the sweetest thing the others had seen. Cecil noticed that my breathing had relaxed and stopped talking, looking down at me and smiling softly at me.

                “Looks like my job here is done.” He said, sighing. I wanted to ask him to stay, but he’d already helped me to a sitting position and stood up, brushing off his pants. He smiled at me, softly but sweetly. I gave a friendly smile back at him.

                “I won’t talk about this on my show.” Cecil said, “Just to clarify. No need to alarm the public on a matter that has been fully contained, right?”

                “Thank you Cecil.” I said. I couldn’t hide the relief from my voice as I awkwardly stood up. He smiled softly at me again, and ducked out. Samantha sighed and closed the door after him, mumbling that she was going to check on Brian. She headed upstairs angrily.

                “You should get some sleep, Carlos.” Amber said, “I can handle things down here. You’ve been through a traumatic experience, watching two fellow scientists die.”

                “Thank you for your concern, Amber.” I said, turning to the rest of the group, “I don’t plan on leaving anytime soon, just so you know.”

                There was an aura of relief when I said this. They all smiled at me and nodded, getting back to work. I heaved a shaky sigh and nodded, heading upstairs. When I got up there Brian was in my bed. I didn’t care. I grabbed a quilt from the closet, thanking Samantha for her help and went to the couch. I fell asleep a few minutes after I’d settled down on the couch.


	8. The Lights in Radon Canyon

                The next day the hospital was open again, and accepting new patients. Samantha drove Brian down, and he’d been checked in shortly after he arrived. He’d have to stay there for a little while, but we all knew that was going to happen. It had been about a week since then. I’d been sitting in my office shifting papers around, trying my best to recover from the incident still. It was quite a strain on all of us. I wasn’t sure if I should be grieving for those who died, or if I should be feeling lucky I wasn’t among them. I felt guilty that I was alive though. The two died protecting me. I couldn’t shake that feeling of guilt.

                “Hey, did you know that there were lights and sounds from Radon Canyon last weekend?” Amber asked me, snapping me out of my thoughts. I looked up at her and shook my head. Amber read my expression and sighed, shifting her weight. I looked away from her silently.

                “Hey, just so you know…” Amber started, “None of us blame you.”

                “I can’t help but feel guilt.” I replied quietly. Amber sighed. She nodded

                “Well, you should mention it to Cecil.” Amber said. I gave her a quizzing look.

                “Why?” I asked her.

                “We don’t have much on the incident. Maybe someone saw it and can give us a synopsis.” Amber said.

                “Alright. Can you give me the notes so I know what’s going on?” I asked her. She smiled, seeming to notice that I was getting back to normal. She handed me the notebook she had on it. I quietly looked over it. It said that there were strange lights and noises coming from the Canyon, and it seemed suspicious. It might be something harmless as a concert, or it could be something much worse. I got very nervous all of a sudden. What could it be if it wasn’t a concert? This town was so strange I wouldn’t be surprised of someone was trying to summon Cthulhu. I sighed and closed the notebook. There wasn’t much, so I would need to go ask about it. I picked up my bag and slipped the notebook in it. I waved to Amber and told her to keep things calm here. She said it wasn’t any problem for her and chuckled a little. I got outside and into my car. I hadn’t really thought about the model up until this point, but it was a hybrid coupe. I didn’t remember buying the car, then again the one we’d had before was destroyed by the Glow Cloud. So, I went to the car lot and picked up the one I saw first (more or less). Shaking my head, I started the car. Much to my surprise I wasn’t greeted with Cecil’s voice. It was Morse code right now. I cocked my head as I drove. Maybe it was earlier than I’d expected. I checked the time on my watch, and sure enough it was six in the morning. I was typically up at eight. I winced silently. I was obviously missing sleep now.

                I got to the station, almost missing it because I was trapped in thought. I pulled over and parked, shutting the car off. I sighed, rubbing my head. I wondered if I looked sleepy or sleep-deprived and shrugged it off. I quietly got out of the car and headed to the door leading into Night Vale Community Radio. I knocked politely, though I immediately questioned why I did. Someone opened the door and looked at me. Purple eyes greeted mine, and a quick smile flashed on Cecil’s face.

                “Good morning Carlos.” Cecil said.

                “Hello. May I come in and ask you some things?” I asked. Cecil nodded quickly and stepped aside, allowing me to enter the radio station. He and I walked to the recording booth quickly. On my way down I got a quick glance into the door of Station Management. I saw tentacle-like appendages flailing around, and I heard soft growling. I stepped into the recording booth and Cecil closed the door behind me.

                “What do you need Carlos?” Cecil asked me. I turned around and looked at him. I forgot for a second why I’d come after looking into his eyes for a little, but eventually remembered, shaking my head.

                “This past weekend my scientists told me that there were strange lights and sounds coming from Radon Canyon. In the notes they were quote ‘bright and colorful’ and the noises were quote ‘unintelligible noises’. They think it was some sort of signal jamming technique, or some coded communication but they’re not sure. Could you ask your listeners if they’ve seen anything or heard anything coming from Radon Canyon?” I asked him.

                “Are you concerned?” Cecil asked. I sighed.

                “I’m concerned, yes.” I replied, “I have a feeling it could have been something sinister, but then again it could have just been a loud electronica concert. We can’t be too sure of either because of the strange events that seem to occur on a daily basis in this town. I’m…scared for this town. For all of you. I want you all to be safe and I want to keep you all as safe as possible.”

                Cecil stared at me for a while, blinking. He shifted awkwardly. I’d obviously rambled a little too much. My face started to burn as I stood there, regretting everything.

                “Do you want to stay for an interview about it?” Cecil asked me, not seeming to notice my embarrassment.

                “I shouldn’t. The other scientists would be wondering where I am if I stayed too long. But I appreciate the offer.” I said, turning towards the door. I stopped and sighed, writing down my cell phone number on a piece of paper in the notebook I was holding. I ripped it off and handed it to Cecil.

                “If you get any developments you should call.” I said, turning back to the door and opening it.

                “Would you like to have dinner sometime?” Cecil asked me quietly, “Or hang out this weekend or something?”

                To avoid more awkwardness I quickly ducked out of the room, taking out my notebook and jotting down “Station Management” in my notebook. I got outside and in my car, turning it on.

                “I’d love to go to dinner with you, Cecil.” I answered in my car, quietly. I closed my eyes and sighed. I couldn’t distract myself at this time with something like dating. It was too trivial, and I’m not sure I could trust whoever I got into a relationship with. It wasn’t Cecil’s fault, though. I drove away, quickly but carefully. I pulled into the parking lot in front of the lab and got out, heading inside. My face was still flushed and I sighed, leaning against the door and closing my eyes.

                “What?” Amber asked.

                “I said too much…” I said, “I told Cecil that I was scared for the town and its people.”

                “Aw, but you’re telling the truth.” Amber said. I nodded.

                “We should get down there and see what’s going on ourselves.” I said. Amber nodded and called a few of the scientists over. She nodded to me.

                “Do you want to come with us?” She asked.

                “I think it would be best.” I said. Working and taking my mind off of everything would be nice for a change. Amber nodded and I followed the crew outside and to one of the vans. Amber tossed me the keys and we all piled in. We drove out towards Radon Canyon. Amber mentioned that she grabbed my camera. I’d completely forgotten about that, so I thanked her. She smiled at me and looked out of the window. We drove for what felt like forever, until finally we arrived at Radon Canyon. We got out of the van and walked out towards the canyon. I looked down. There’s no way in _hell_ there could be a concert there. Amber handed me my camera without me so much as asking her to and I thanked her. I snapped a picture of the drop.

                “So the lights and sounds were not a concert.” I said, “Now we know that much.”

                I wish we could have gone down there and actually investigated the place. I think we spent about four hours just looking and jotting notes down while some of the other scientists used machines to get readings. Nothing seemed too out of the ordinary, there was no radiation at least. I walked around to have a better look at what was going on down there. It looked like a small child was standing there. A chill ran down my spine when the child looked up at me. Amber came to my side and looked. I quickly took a picture of her. Amber looked at me when I was finished.

                “Who is that?” Amber whispered.

                “I don’t know, but I don’t think it’s good.” I said.

                “I told you I’d kill you, and I will.” The girl said. I shivered intensely. She walked away from us, heading into a cave. She hid from sight. Just then I received a phone call. I looked at the Caller ID and it was unknown. Then it must be Cecil.

                “Hello?” I asked, answering the phone.

                “Hello Carlos!” Cecil said, “We’ve gotten a lot of calls and we got one from the Parks Department in particular. They said the flickering lights and unintelligible noises you had me talk about were coming from the Pink Floyd Multimedia Laser Spectacular!”

                “Wh—.” I started, but cut myself off and sighed. I placed a hand to my forehead and began to rub it. I was starting to get a headache from the lack of understanding Cecil seemed to have about my worries. Then again, I’m outside eyes. He’s been living here long enough that everything is normal.

                “So nothing too serious, right?” Cecil asked.

                “Yes, Cecil. It’s very serious! There’s no way a concert could—.” I started, “Look, the situation is worse than I imagined…I need to figure a few things out for the time being. I’ll call if I need anything else, alright?”

                “Alright…”Cecil said, sounding depressed.

                “It’s not your fault, Cecil.” I said softly, “I just have a bad feeling about it. I’ll call you if I need anything, okay?”

                “Alright.” Cecil said, sounding happier than before. He hung up the phone. I added him as a contact in my phone. Might as well, right?

                “That little girl…” Amber said, “Does she know you?”

                “I’m pretty sure she does. Remember when they wanted to remove the big iron door that prevented dangerous Plutonium from leaking into Night Vale?” I said.

                “Yeah…” Amber said, “They passed it without us explaining anything.”

                “Well, I went just before it was passed. I checked for Plutonium but there was none. I was greeted by that little girl, who said that she’d kill me because I kept her locked away.” I said.

                “The next day you took the day off. Was that part of it?” She asked. I nodded. Amber sighed and rubbed her head.

                “Let’s head back for now.” Amber said. I nodded, and we called the other scientists in. Thankfully nobody fell into the Canyon, as it would have been awkward trying to explain _that_ to everyone else. When we got back, Samantha greeted us.

                “How are you all doing?” She asked.

                “What’s going on?” I asked. Normally she didn’t come out and greet us like that. She smiled softly when I spoke, her face flushing. Crushed could be dangerous.

                “Oh nothing. I just wanted to say hi.” Samantha said, “I was also curious as to where you all were.”

                “Radon Canyon.” Amber replied bitterly. I nodded. We all fell silent for a little while, standing there in the entryway. I began to walk to my desk but Cecil stopped me dead.

                _This just in: We’re receiving word from the City Council that there was absolutely_ not _a Pink Floyd Multimedia Laser Spectacular this weekend at Radon Canyon…that there_ was _never a Pink Floyd Multimedia Laser Spectacular_ ever _near Night Vale. “Pink Floyd is not even a_ thing _.” said the Council in a very stern, but quiet, statement just received by me, here, via phone._

 _The Council…and this is strange… the_ entire _Council—not just a_ representative _of the council, the_ **entire Council** _—issued this statement, all speaking in unison, just now, over the phone: That Night Vale citizens are prohibited from discussing any lights or sounds coming from Radon Canyon this past weekend, and that they should just stop remembering Pink Floyd shows altogether._

 _The Council reiterated that there is_ now way _that they are huge Floyd fans, privately using public funds on a laser-powered séance to talk “hard-rockin’ classic jams” with the ghost of original front man Syd Barrett, and that Syd “wouldn’t even say anything juicy anyway, because he is such a gentleman, and an artist.” This did not happen at all._

                Well, there’s one answer. The little girl was probably giving City Council the ability to talk with him. But how could she do that? How could City Council even get down to see the concert in the first place, much less install equipment and remove it by this point in the week? I had so many questions buzzing in my head that it hurt.

                _So, listeners, we urge you to look_ away _from Radon Canyon. Avert your eyes, ears, and memories from that which is no longer allowed you._

                “What do we do now?” Amber asked.

                “Let’s just stay away. It’s better to follow what they say, anyway.” I said, “Even if we’re not citizens we should still listen to the Council.”

                “Do you believe Cecil?” Samantha asked. I nodded.

                “It makes the most sense.” I said, “We don’t have anyone telling otherwise at this point.”

                “But City Council just said they didn’t—.” Samantha started.

                “Did you hear that sarcastic tone Cecil used?” I asked her. She nodded.

                “Cecil was covertly telling us that it _was_ City Council. Or at least that’s the vibe I’m getting. Maybe he’s trying to ease my worries.” I replied.

                We worked for a little while, getting all of this new information sorted out. I stopped when Cecil’s voice came back on.

                _Teddy Williams, over at the Desert Flower Bowling Alley and Arcade Fun Complex, has an update on the doorway into that vast, underground city he found in the pin retrieval area of Lane Five._

                What? When did that happen?

                _He says that every window of the city is now glowing both day and night. And he heard the shouts and footsteps of what sounds like an army marching upwards toward the world above. He also said that, given that nothing really matters now, bowling is half-off and each game comes with a free basket of wings._

                What the heck? Why didn’t he contact me? I jotted this down in my notebook. Maybe this was all tied to the girl. She could have summoned the ghost of Syd, while also giving these “people” a way up to the surface. I had to call Cecil.

                _It_ is _a good night, listeners._

_Goodnight._

                I dialed Cecil’s number after the show re-started itself, and he answered almost right away.

                “Hello Carlos.” Cecil said happily.

                “I need you to tell me when Teddy noticed the doorway in bowling lane five.” I said.

                “Is this a part of your research?” Cecil asked.

                “Kind of.” I said.

                “Alright. Hold on one moment.” Cecil said.

                It sounded like he opened a filing cabinet. Over the phone he mumbled “teddy…teddy…” over and over again, as if he was searching the papers to find what he was looking for. I shifted, and he said a little “ah” as it sounded like he found what he was looking for. The cabinet didn’t close, but he hummed softly as he read the paper to himself.

                “It appeared the day you came here, actually.” Cecil said, “Is that important?”

                “Possibly.” I said, “I guess I just didn’t hear that part…”

                This was strange. I could have sworn that little girl was involved…

                “Carlos?” Cecil asked. I jumped out of my thoughts at his concerned tone.

                “Yeah, I’m fine.” I said immediately, “I’m just worried about something that’s been happening.”

                “You can tell me.” Cecil said, “I might be able to help remember.”

                I sighed and nodded, even though he probably couldn’t see me nod. I walked to my desk and sat down.

                “Well, do you remember when the town wanted to get rid of that iron door with the yellow sign that read ‘DANGER PLUTONIUM DO NOT OPEN DOOR RISK OF DEATH’ with the scull and crossbones?” I started.

                “Yeah!” Cecil said, “We finally removed that eyesore.”

                “Well, at first I was worried that Plutonium was actually behind the door. In which case it would have leaked into the city killing everyone.” I said, “But when I got there and took some readings, nothing was there. There was no trace of Plutonium anywhere.”

                “Huh…” Cecil said, “Is that…weird?”

                “Yes.” I said, “Why would you put a door there if there wasn’t even going to be plutonium there?”

                “True…”Cecil said. It sounded like I was going a little over his head with this, but I shrugged it off.

                “I heard a voice coming from behind the door.” I said, “It said that it was going to kill me.”

                “Kill you?” Cecil asked, worried.

                “Yes. I even double checked with it. It sounded like a little girl. I thought maybe this “girl” was connected to the bowling alley lane five development, but maybe that’s wrong.” I said, “Anyway I went to Radon Canyon and saw her there, in the Canyon. It seemed like there was a natural stage there that was “not used for a Pink Floyd concert’.”

                “You picked up on it, huh?” Cecil said, smiling, “I think maybe that girl was involved with that.”

                “Which is what lead me to think maybe she had something to do with the small city under bowling alley lane five. But that doesn’t seem to check out now.” I said.

                “You don’t know that for sure.” He said, “Maybe she did this while trapped behind that door. Now she can just move freely.”

                I paused for a moment. Cecil was right; there was nothing suggesting otherwise.

                “You’re right.” I said, “I’ll make sure to keep tabs on it. And, Cecil, thanks. I’ve got one request though.”

                “Yes?” He asked.

                “Don’t talk about this conversation on your radio show. I don’t want to get you into trouble.” I said.

                “I’d already be in trouble, Carlos.” Cecil said, “The Secret Police and Vague yet Menacing Government Agencies are always listening. Is there anything else you need?”

                _“How about dinner next weekend?”_

                “No. Thanks again.” I said after a pause. Cecil took a moment to answer.

                “ _Goodnight, Carlos. Goodnight._ ” Cecil said, much like he was signing off of his radio show. After that he hung up. I felt warmth in my chest. I found myself grinning at my own signoff from Cecil.

                After jotting a few things down in my journal, I headed upstairs and got into bed. As I closed my eyes, Cecil’s words came into mind.

                _Goodnight, Carlos. Goodnight._


	9. PYRAMID

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A strange Pyramid appears in Night Vale.

                Slowly I opened my eyes in the morning. I hadn’t had this good of a night sleep in a few weeks.

                _For everyone’s protection, they are keeping the name and description of the fugitive secret, but indicate that all strangers should be mistrusted and avoided…as well as friends and loved ones, because how well do you know those people anyway? Are you aware of their location every second of every day? Who among us does not have secrets?_

                I sighed when Cecil’s voice greeted me. I sat up and flipped the covers off of myself, quickly heading to take a shower. I rubbed my still short hair and sighed. I let the water fall on my face as I pondered what happened to Telly. I hadn’t seen him recently. After finishing up, I got out of the shower and got dressed. I figured that today I should break the cycle of having cereal and made myself some pancakes. As I finished, my question about Telly was answered.

                _Well, Telly was seen recently, wandering the Sand Wastes, howling at the sky, and holding up Carlos’ shorn locks as though begging God to reverse the crime he has done. Reports indicate that his skin was blistering, that his eyes were bleary, and that he was recently seen trying to give a_ cactus _a haircut, whispering and cooing into what he seemed to think was its ear._

                To me it seemed a little harsh that this is what happened to Telly. I’d asked him to cut my hair, and I didn’t give him any restrictions on how short to make it. Part of me wanted to tell Cecil this, but the other part of me knew he wouldn’t believe it. I sighed and shook my head, continuing to enjoy my pancakes.

                _Listeners, I am not one to stand aside harshly and say that man deserves the punishment that comes to him, but I also am not sorry to see Telly in this state, given his crime._

                I sighed loudly and shook my head. I started to wash dishes so I didn’t have to when I got home, idly listening to what Cecil was saying.

                _Ladies and gentlemen, I must say that I am not a cat person. But I have really grown to love Khoshekh, the stray cat that has made his home here at the radio station. I discovered Khoshekh several weeks ago, hovering in a fixed location in the men’s bathroom—and he’s remained there ever since._

_The men at the station, of course, have taken to keeping the sink at a light trickle, so he can get water, and we even take turns buying Science Diet Low-Calorie Cat Food. It turns out little Khoshekh is getting a bit chubby, since he can’t actually exercise in his unmovable, levitating state._

I began to think about that cat. I wasn’t sure if I’d be going there to actually see the cat myself, but I wondered if it would actually get exercise since it is floating. Levitation probably takes some calories, so how could he not be getting exercise? I jotted this down after finishing the dishes and headed downstairs.

                “What are we looking into today?” I asked.

                “I don’t know.” Amber replied. I glanced at her and nodded slowly. Normally we had something to do. It was weird to almost have a day off.

                _An update on the Pyramid reported on earlier:_

                “Pyramid?” I asked Amber. She shrugged.

                “I’m just feeling tired. I don’t want to investigate it if you don’t mind.” Amber said. They’d worked almost non-stop since they came, and I _had_ taken a couple of days off.

                “Take the day then.” I replied to her.

                “Seriously?” She said.

                “You’ve told me to on occasion.” I replied. Amber smiled at me.

                “All of you take the day. Go and relax. I’ll look into this pyramid thing myself. Or maybe I won’t. I don’t know.” I said.

                When your whole team was feeling lazy it was hard to be productive. But, none of us really left the science building. We just bounced ideas off for what we wanted to look into. We also idly listened to Cecil’s radio show, thought we weren’t really paying attention to it. We were just using today’s show as background noise.

                “Does the microwave still make things explode?” I asked, “I remember we were about to test it when the Glow Cloud came through.”

                “I don’t know. Maybe.” Amber said, sprawled out as much as she could be in her swivel chair. I nodded.

                “It does.” Damian said as he came back to us, sighing softly. He looked like he’d tried making himself lunch. I gave him a sympathetic wince.

                “We should get a new one.” Amber said. She made no moves to get up, and nor did I. Today was just a lazy day, wasn’t it?

                “So, other than sitting here and talking what are we doing?” Damian asked. He had the most energy out of all of us. I was a little jealous.

                “Listening to Cecil.” I replied honestly. Damian nodded.

                “Do you mind if I do research?” He asked.

                “Knock yourself out.” I replied, feeling exhausted. I guess it was because I’d just gotten a great night sleep after having two weeks of shit sleep that I was just exhausted. It was nice to have a lazy day though. Damian glanced among us and shrugged. He didn’t understand our need to be lazy. He headed into the labs quietly. I thought about following him.

                “Damian?” I called out.

                “Yeah?” He called back.

                “What were you planning on doing?” I asked.

                “Well, I’m not sure. Maybe I’d start working on the microwave problem.” Damian replied, heading out of the lab with a toolbox.

                “What were you going to do exactly?” Amber asked.

                “I was going to take it apart and see if something was inside the machinery.” Damian replied. I shrugged.

                “Don’t get yourself killed.” Amber teased. Damian rolled his eyes while I watched her nervously. I stood up and followed Damian into the kitchen. Damian had un-plugged the microwave at this point and started taking it apart. He glanced over his shoulder when he noticed me hovering.

                “Hey Carlos. What’s up?” He asked.

                “I uh…” I stammered. I didn’t want to tell him that I was afraid of him dying on me.

                “Afraid that you’ll lose another friend?” He asked slyly.

                “Yeah. A lot has happened.” I replied.

                “I don’t blame you.” Damian mumbled. He checked the inside, and sighed.

                “Nothing?” I asked him.

                “Nothing.” He answered simply, putting the microwave back together. He seemed disappointed. I walked back into the main room and wrote down the microwave findings.

                **_"Somewhere there is a map. And on that map is Earth. And attached to Earth is an arrow that says_ your _name and lists your lifespan. Some of you die standing, others sitting. Many of you die in cars. I can never die. It is difficult for me to understand the concept that I am attempting to convey. I cannot show you this vision, but you may imagine it. Step forward and tell someone of it, please.”_**

                I stared at the radio, confused. We probably should have been paying attention to Cecil’s broadcast. I sighed and continued writing my notes down, reading over them a few times. Damian and I bounced ideas back and forth about what could be causing the microwave to suddenly blow up food. My phone rang from my desk. I picked it up, not really thinking about who was on the other end.

                “Hello?” I asked.

                “Hello Carlos.” Cecil replied happily, “I wanted to tell you I’ve gotten nothing on the little girl so far.”

                “Oh right.” I answered, flustered, “Did you ask about it?”

                “Nobody else seems to have reported it other than you.” Cecil said, concerned.

                “Weird.” I mumbled, writing it down.

                “If you’re busy I can call later.” Cecil said, flustered.

                “Yeah. Sorry.” I replied.

                _“Goodnight Carlos.”_ Cecil said, hanging up.

                “Who was it?” Samantha asked, closing the door.

                “It was Cecil. I asked him to look into something.” I replied calmly, glancing back at Damian.

                Damian shrugged, heading back into the kitchen. I followed. I wasn’t entirely in the mood to deal with Samantha and her hatred of Cecil. Damian stood and watched the microwave, his arms folded.

                “Do you think it will blow something up if it’s unplugged?” Damian asked.

                “I have no idea.” I replied.

                Damian shrugged. He picked up a glass of water and opened the microwave, putting it inside. He unplugged the machine, then set the timer. He hit “Start”. We waited, expecting nothing, but the microwave came to life. I watched in awe as it heated the water. Damian and I stared at each other, shivering. When the microwave stopped, we checked the water. It was fine, just a bit warm. Carefully, I took the glass of water we’d left in the freezer and stuck it in the microwave. I turned it on, at the same time and temperature. The microwave hummed, and dinged. The glass was warm and some of the ice was melted, but it hadn’t exploded.

                I jotted this down, looking at Damian.

                “Let’s just leave it unplugged for now.” I said.

                Damian nodded.

                _Being in the desert, we get a lot of sun, and doctors are encouraging Night Vale Citizens to do regular skin checks. You may think that freckle or mole is harmless, but you never know when it will grow into something much worse._

                Damian and I stared at each other, our brows creased. What the hell was Cecil talking about?

                _Surgeons at Night Vale General Hospital are noticing an uptick in dermatological growths related to sun exposure. Doctors describe these growths as “15-inch spiraled horns.”_

I jotted it down. This town does usually have some form of radiation present, or at least whenever I check. So maybe the horns aren’t in relation to the sun, but most likely they are a factor in it. I noted that I might want to talk to Cecil about it later.

                _The horns mostly protrude from the lower back or knees. Unchecked, these horns can develop a glistening shine, small leather saddles, and bright red lips on the very tip._

                I noted that this didn’t sound like any mutation I’ve heard of.

                _So check your skin at least once a week in the mirror. Dermatologists recommend a three-step process. 1. Search meticulously for 15-inch horns protruding from your body. Don’t overlook anything. 2. If you find any suspicious growths, mark them with a chalk pentagon. 3. Gently remove the affected skin area with a sterilized razor blade, or similarly clean crafting blade._

Why would the hospital be asking residents to perform surgery on themselves? I wrote that question down too, sighing and rubbing my head. Cecil was…calm, about it. I wouldn’t have advised doing this.

                I noticed a few of the other scientists checking themselves. I sighed, shaking my head slightly. I glanced outside, wondering what _exactly_ we were going to do. We had lists and lists of minor occurrences to look into, but it just seemed…normal here. Were we just going to research all of the small things to put together the big picture, or were we going to go for the big picture?

                _This decision is not without its controversy, as the existing street signs are entirely in braille. One critic, Paul Birmingham, says removing these signs will **deflate the earth.**_

                I glanced back at the radio, raising my eyebrows. If that’s what is being taught in Night Vale schools…I shook my head, writing a note down to have Cecil try to spread the word about actual science.

                _As a member of the Air-Filled Earth Society, Paul believes that Earth is a precariously-inflated orb that could pop or sag at any moment._

_“We’ve gotta stop teaching all these religious propaganda in our schools and start teaching real science,” Paul shouted from his lean-to behind the library._

_I have to admit, listeners, he makes a valid point._

                I sighed, shaking my head again. I rubbed my forehead, walking to the list.

                “What else do we want to look into today?” I asked, irritated.

                “I don’t really know.” Damian said, “The clocks are all one minute behind. Do we want to see what’s behind all of that?”

                “Maybe. I’m getting a bit interested in the pyramid. I think I’ll check that out.”

                I grabbed the car keys but Samantha grabbed my arm.

                “I don’t think you should go out there.” She said.

                _Update on the Pyramid situation. Flaky-Os Board of Directors are vehemently denying—some of them at gunpoint—that they have any part in the Pyramid that is stubbornly continuing to exist in our town._

_They are sneaky ones! I hope the new line of cereal turns out to be worth the hype. Meanwhile, the Pyramid itself has **altered** its broadcast, sending out a second message, which is as follows:_

_**“Everything you do matters, except your life. Death will be the last action you undertake. I do not live, but I exist. What is my purpose? I will not tell you. One day you will discover your purpose, and then you will tell no one. And then you will die.”**_

                I didn’t think this was just some clever campaign, but…If they were being held at gunpoint that was pretty convincing. I sighed, putting the keys down. I wrote down what the pyramid said, wondering if they were using some type of code. I heard Cecil passively mention codes as well, so potentially we were on the same page.

                The weather played as I sat at my desk, struggling to figure out what kind of code they might be using. Maybe the words were what they were, and we were supposed to interoperate them our own separate way? But how would that actually mean anything for an ad campaign?

                _Meanwhile, the Pyramid has left behind a much **tinier** Pyramid, a mere **souvenir** of its looming, inscrutable mass. This tiny Pyramid is broadcasting one final message—a farewell from the geometric shape that stole our hearts._

_So let us wrap up our show today with its words:_

                I prepared myself to write as Cecil spoke.

                **_“Somewhere there is a map. And on that map is Earth. And attached to Earth is an arrow that says your name and lists your lifespan. Some of you die standing, others sitting. Many of you die in cars. I can never die. It is difficult for me to understand the concept that I am attempting to convey. I cannot show you this vision, but you may imagine it. Step forward and tell someone of it, please.”_**

                My brow creased at the words. I, again, attempted to understand a hidden code in vain. The final words of Cecil’s broadcast stuck with me as I struggled with the meaning of the Pyramid.

                _Speaking of the nighttime, I truly hope you have a good one, Night Vale. Goodnight._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry this took so long! I just lost the muse to do it. I hope that you all don't hate me too much. Hopefully I will pick up writing in this again (I also am done with my first semester of college so that's good and fun).


	10. This story may or may not be continued.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is going to be 100% the author talking. So if you want to skip this chapter, go for it! Thank you for reading.

I chose to title the story this way for a reason. There have been a lot of people confused by the cereal eating cat, and I for one loved the idea of Carlos having a cat. So, let's break that one down first.

I wanted Carlos to have a cat for the pure fact of him having a cat before he and Cecil officially get together. It would be so cute for him and khoshekh to get along, and for the cat to have a friend. Aaaaaaand then there was the news that Carlos was allergic to cats. I wanted to stay as close to canon as I could with this story, and having Carlos allergic to cats but living with a cat and having no previous signs of allergies was a no-go. I had never really thought about diverging from the canon slightly, since this was supposed to be "welcome to night vale from Carlos's perspective." And, at the time, it never occured to me that you _could_ diverge from the canon. I was frustrated and annoyed with that, and I didn't know what to do with Gregory. So the easiest thing (in my mind) was to kill Gregory off and be done with him forever. It made sense in my mind, and unfortunately I didn't really think about what was going to be the fallout of the cat dying. So, yeah. That's 100% my bad, and that part is 100000% rushed. A few people have called me out on it and it's helped me grow as a writer and made me think of "hey maybe there  _should_ be an explaination for this??" or "I can go off of the canon on this one because I'm the author. I don't have to stick 100% to what happens in the movies/books/tv show, etc." So thank you all for that! It's  _really_ helped me grow as an author!

So. Why haven't I updated this one? Well, like I said before my interests change. I drifted away from the Welcome to Night Vale fanbase and I just...never looked back. I got into other things and never really came back to this one. I do love the podcast and how strange it is and eventually I may begin listening to it again, but for right now I'm not. I've also been writing less fanfiction because I'm trying to work on original stories, so that's definitely played a huge part in me not updating this one. But like I said, I just lost interest.

There is so much I want to do with this story, though. There were so many crazy ideas I had for it! So, here's the basic summary of where this story was going to go (just so you all have an ending):

Carlos died when he gets stabbed in the episode where he and Cecil basically agree to start dating, and share a lovely moment sitting on Carlos's car staring at the stars (the one where Carlos says the people who live under bowling lane six or something are fine and safe, but they're trying to declare war on the surface). So how is he alive? The beginning, when they are investigating the house, I planned on having Carlos's soul travel out and wander around as a ghost for a while. Then, when the Russian dude basically saves Carlos, his soul goes back into his body and gives him a second chance. He would be having weird moments of "but I'm dead??? I died???" throughout the story, and he would be trying to figure out what the hell was going on with him, while also trying not to worry Cecil. Cute right?

So, later on, Strex Corp. moves in. And Carlos is vaguely aware of it being a bad thing. So, he's trying to figure out what they're doing or something. That part I never really had planned out, if I'm going to be honest. Then, we get to the revolution! So, Carlos gets trapped behind the doors that close, because he "doesn't belong" in Night Vale. I became confused when I heard that part. Why wouldn't he belong? Surely the town would have accepted him after a while, right? If he died, though, he wouldn't truly belong. So, that would be my explanation as to why he's in the dog park in the first place. He'd be trying to get back, but he would have no real way to.

And the story would have pretty much ended there, where he's in the dog park wandering around confused as to where he is. But then, he finds a house. The same house from the beginning that "doesn't exist." The one that gets its door opened, and then Carlos can escape. To be put back in his body after he "dies", to repeat the same thing over and over again potentially forever. But instead of doing that, maybe he doesn't get himself caught behind the door or maybe he tells Cecil that he's actually dead. Maybe he even warns this new Cecil about it as a ghost so he can stop himself from going to the bowling alley and stop himself from dying in the first place. So, Cecil can be happy. What a bittersweet ending.

But I never really got that far. And then, I had a different idea; what if Carlos was actually posessed by the sun god they all feared? So that's why he can't go back? So rather than trying to find a way back he's trying to find a way to get himself not-posessed. And he's saying "it's so scientific over here" to make Cecil not worry about him.  More sadness!

So, whichever one you prefer is the ending to this story. If I ever find that I want to update it, I may edit this chapter and push it back a while, but as a whole don't expect me to edit it. Or to write more. But, if you're curious to know what I'm working on, you can ask me via my tumblr (just-another-tumblee.tumblr.com), you can message me via my fanfiction.net account (Yuuki223), or you can follow my Wattpad (msdrelizabeth (please note I only have one story up on wattpad, and I have like a million drafts)).


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